Eleven years. That’s how long Instagram has been around, and all that time, it had no decent web or desktop version — or at least not one which would let users create a post.
This might change soon. According to Bloomberg, Instagram has started testing this feature, allowing users to post photos and videos from their desktop browsers.
Facebook spokeswoman Christine Pai confirmed the news to Bloomberg. “We know that many people access Instagram from their computer. To improve that experience, we’re now testing the ability to create a Feed post on Instagram with their desktop browser.”
As is, Instagram’s web app is pretty rudimentary — it lets you log in and check out other users’ posts and stories, as well as send messages, search for posts, and check their activity logs. But the ability to post is still absent.
Bloomberg’s report has no details on how the tested features looks or how widely available it is. It wasn’t active for me when I tried it out. However, social media consultant Matt Navara, who first saw the feature, posted a couple of screenshots on his Twitter feed.
Navara’s screenshots reveal that the posting feature is pretty close to the mobile version, with the ability to choose filters, tinker with settings like brightness, contrast, and saturation, add a caption, set location, and turn commenting on and off.
The idea behind not letting users do this for so long was rooted into Instagram’s roots as a mobile app, which lets users share experiences as they happen. However, today Instagram is teeming with professionals which would probably like the option of working from their computer — not to mention regular users who would surely sometimes prefer being able to post to Instagram from their desktops.
