Instagram initially leaped into the public consciousness as a way for people to quickly upload and share photos from their mobile devices. It let users share snaps of their pets, vacations, and day-to-day activities with their friends and family.

But since its launch in 2010, Instagram has become so much more than that. Today, everyone from brands and creative professionals to amateur photographers and governments uses the platform to promote, sell, and influence.

As such, the old limitations of only uploading images from phones have become too constrictive. Users need a way to upload photos without a mobile device, thus letting them share content saved elsewhere.

Here are four ways to upload content without a smartphone or tablet, along with one bonus method.

1. Official Instagram App for Windows

Available on: Windows 10 devices with touchscreen

If you're running Windows 10, you can use the official Instagram app for Windows. But strangely, you can only use it to upload photos and videos if you have a touchscreen device.

In truth, the app is quite basic. The company has not adapted it for Windows – it's essentially just the smartphone app resized into a "modern app" window. That's probably why the touchscreen limitation exists.

Nonetheless, if you have a touchscreen laptop, it fulfills its purpose. And in addition to the ability to upload content, it also gives you access to all of Instagram's best features such as Instagram Stories, Instagram Direct, and Explore. You can even edit photos and apply filters, just like the mobile app.

Download: Instagram for Windows

2. BlueStacks App Player

Available on: Windows, Mac

BlueStacks is an Android emulator for your computer. It lets you run any Android app on either your PC or Mac.

To start using it, head over to the BlueStacks website and download the program. Once you're in, there are two ways you can start using Instagram. Either search BlueStacks for Instagram and install it directly or download an APK file from an online repo. APKs will open automatically with the BlueStacks app.

Once installed, all of Instagram's options are available to you. You can register for a new account, log into an existing one, browse your timeline, and most importantly, upload photos.

Because it's a mobile interface, it's not always intuitive to use. However, like the official Windows 10 app, it gets the job done.

Download: BlueStacks App Player

3. Use a Web Browser

Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux

Theoretically, you can't upload pictures to Instagram from a web browser. However, with a couple of tweaks, you can unlock a secret trick that makes it all possible. All you need is a copy of either Chrome or Safari running on your machine.

To Upload Photos to Instagram from Chrome

  1. Go to Instagram.com and log in to your account
  2. Right-click anywhere on the Instagram page
  3. Click Inspect on the context menu
  4. Select Toggle Device Toolbar (top left-hand corner of the Elements panel)
  5. Choose a device from the drop-down menu at the top of the main window
  6. Refresh the page

You should now see the camera icon in the Instagram app. Click it, and you'll be able to choose the photo you want to upload.

To Upload Photos to Instagram from Safari

  1. Open Safari and navigate to Preferences > Advanced
  2. Mark the checkbox next to Show Develop menu in menu bar
  3. Open a private browsing window
  4. Go to Develop > User Agent > Safari -- iOS 10 – iPhone
  5. Go to Instagram.com and log in to your account
  6. Click on the camera icon to upload a picture

Clearly, neither of these solutions are particularly elegant, but they don't require you install any additional apps or supply your login credentials to third-party app providers.

4. Gramblr

Available on: Windows, Mac

Gramblr is a workable yet limited way to upload photos to Instagram. Sure, it lets you upload your pictures without a phone, but it doesn't offer any additional features beyond that. As such, if you want access to Instagram's other tools, you still need to use an app.

Once you've grabbed a copy of the app and installed it on your machine, you need to sign in using your Instagram account.

To upload a snap, click on Upload Now. Your photos need to be exactly 650 x 650 pixels and saved in the JPG format. If your file doesn't meet the requirements, nothing will happen – you won't even see an error message.

If your file does satisfy all the requirements, Gramblr will let you write a caption for your photo and make some simple edits. It will then upload it for you.

Note: Some Gramblr users have reported indexing problems when using hashtags. They claim that when you add a hashtag using Gramblr, your image will not be seen by other users who look for this hashtag. The problem doesn't always arise, but it's a possibility.

Download: Gramblr

5. Dropbox

Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux

Okay, this one is a bit of a cheat. Using Dropbox is a great way to get photos from your PC to Instagram (it's just one of many unique Dropbox uses), but you'll still need a phone for the last step. Still, who doesn't have a smartphone these days?

To begin, make sure you have a Dropbox account; if you've not already got one, go and make one now.

Next, download the Dropbox desktop client for your operating system. It's available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. You'll also need a copy of the Dropbox and Instagram apps on your smartphone.

Upload the photo in question to your Dropbox account by dragging it into your computer's Dropbox folder.

When the uploading process has finished, open Dropbox on your phone, tap the arrow in the top right-hand corner, and choose Export.

To complete the process, select Instagram from the list of apps. You will be able to make tweaks to your image using the Instagram editor before you upload it for the world to see.

Download: Dropbox

How Do You Upload Photos to Instagram?

In this article, we've introduced you to four great ways to upload photos and videos to Instagram without using a phone. We've also shown you the Dropbox method, which although it still requires a phone, is an elegant way of getting photos off your computer's hard drive and onto the social network.

Still wondering how to create an Instagram account? We've got you covered:

Image Credit: cla1978/Depositphotos

Originally written by Yaara Lancet on 24th March 2014