A billion active users per month makes the content of this network elusive. Learn how to save photos on Instagram before they disappear.
Saving photos to Instagram may be the only way to get back to reviewing a post you loved. The daily production of content on the network is so high that users who follow several profiles end up getting lost in so many publications.
The very algorithm that selects the content to appear in your feed does not facilitate the reunion with a photo, video or story that you really liked. It seems much easier to see, like and save immediately to review later and without complications.
As Instagram does not allow the direct download of publications , see how you can get around this difficulty without having to resort only to the screenshot, which turns out to be of no use if you are also interested in saving some videos.
SAVE PHOTOS TO INSTAGRAM: SAVE WITHIN THE APP
You can easily archive the publications you like within the application itself. Just tap the mini banner symbol in the bottom right corner below the post.
That publication will be saved in a private section, which you can easily review. To do so, you must access your profile, tap on the 3 horizontal lines in the upper right corner of the screen and then tap on the mini banner again.
If you’ve already created multiple publication libraries there and want to place the new publication in the right library, just tap and hold the mini banner symbol. A list of your libraries will appear in a popup to choose from or you can save the publication in a new library by tapping on the + symbol.
Simple and fast, it works for photos and videos, with the certainty given by Instagram that no one will access your libraries and that when you save someone’s publication, that person doesn’t know you saved it. But what if I want to save these publications offline, on my cell phone or computer?
SAVE PHOTOS TO INSTAGRAM: SAVE OUTSIDE THE APP
Always respect the original author
The copyright issue is one of the most valid reasons that Instagram points out for making life so difficult for anyone who wants to download its users’ publications. But we also know that on the internet it is inevitable for content to spill out of the places where it was originally published.
It is up to the ethics of each user to know how to appreciate and respect the work and publications of others, always referencing their authorship when republishing or reusing content of which they are not the author.
Use a free app to download
It’s easy to find a free application online that helps you download the Instagram posts that interest you most. They are accessible in the official Stores for Android and iPhone users and some offer unlimited downloads in their free version.
Almost all of them work through a simple system. Download the application to your mobile phone and, when you find an Instagram publication that you like, photo or video, just tap on the 3 horizontal lines that appear in the upper right corner, just above that publication. Then just tap >Copy Link or >Copy Url or >Copy Link. It will depend on your system.
Then open the download application you chose to install, paste the address copied from Instagram and the download starts. Here are some suggestions of the most used applications for Android, Downloader and InsTake Downloader, and for iOS, Insaver or Regrammer.
Resort to a programmer’s trick
A more complex process, but one that may be an option for those who are more used to the structure and programming of pages. Log into Instagram from your computer. Save the post by right-clicking it. Select >Show Page Code.
This will bring up a tab that displays the source code of the Instagram page you are viewing. Now just scroll down through the code and look for the image. It can be associated with a file with a .jpg extension and must be within a line of code that corresponds to a URL address. Once found, copy that URL and open it in a new browser window. When the image appears, when you right-click on it, you will already find the Save function available, which never appears on Instagram.
SAVE PHOTOS ON INSTAGRAM: YOU CREATED THEM ON YOUR PROFILE AND WANT TO SAVE THEM OFFLINE
Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but it’s very easy to save your own publications, created and edited within Instagram, to your phone’s gallery. Just access your profile, tap the icon in the shape of a person and then tap the 3 horizontal lines on the menu in the top right corner of your screen.
Then click on >Settings, >Account, then >Original Photos or >Original Posts. Here you can activate the option to always save your original publications locally, in your mobile phone’s library. You can do it just for photos or just for videos.
Get a copy of what you’ve shared
If you are a very active user, who has had an account for several years and has only now remembered that you want to save what you have posted on this network, Instagram has created a new feature for that. Just go to your profile, click or tap >Settings, >Privacy & Security, and scroll down until you find >Data download or >Ask to download.
Here you will see the description of the service. You can get a copy of what you’ve shared on Instagram via email. The network promises a response to your request within 48 hours, the time needed to collect and send a link to your email that gives access to this data.
