This is one in a series of guides to using apps that can be used to upload photos to Instagram from a desktop or laptop computer. Instagram is designed to be used with phones and mobile devices, but for any number of reasons, you might want to be able to upload from your computer rather than your phone.
This guide is focused on Uplet for Mac. It’s available directly from the developers, or a great way to get it is through the Setup subscription, where you get full versions of a couple of hundred great Mac apps for a flat monthly fee (free for 7 days, then $9.99/month).
It’s a simple app that doesn’t have many bells and whistles, but I’ve found it to be lightweight, easy to use, and to work as advertised. It doesn’t have any filters or advanced editing features, but that simplicity is a big part of its appeal. A recent update added the ability to work with multiple Instagram accounts.
These are the core features that Uplet includes:
- Post photos and videos to Instagram from Mac
- Support for multiple Instagram accounts and toggle between them.
- Change crop from square (fill) to rectangular (fit)
- Add captions and hashtags (but not in-image tagging)
- Batch upload
So if you’re on a Mac and looking for something straightforward, Uplet is well worth a look.
- It’s available directly from the developers.
- A great way to get it is through the Setup subscription, which has a 7-day free trial.
I’ve also put together a more detailed post on how to post to Instagram from Mac that includes other methods and apps.
How-To Guide
Here’s a quick rundown of how it works.
Eltima has added their own note outlining recommendations for using Uplet without running afoul of Instagram’s rules; you can find it [here](https://mac.eltima.com/instagram-security.html), and I recommend reading it.
Logging In to your Instagram Account
Once you’ve installed it on your Mac and run it, the main screen is about as simple as can be. You log into your Instagram account in the top panel, providing your username and Instagram password. That then gets stored in the app’s memory, so you don’t need to re-enter it every time.
Uploading Photos to Instagram with Uplet’s Drop Panel
The core program is just a drop panel. You can drag one or multiple photos or videos onto it or use the + button to open the usual dialog to browse for them. A recent update has also added the ability to upload videos.
Once you’ve added a photo, you can choose whether to display it cropped as a square or in a rectangular format using the small arrows in the bottom left of the image. You can post photos with aspect ratios between 1.91:1 and 4:5.
Under that are the caption and tagging sections. Just type whatever text you want in that section.
Once you hit the Share button, you’ll get a progress dialog.
And then a notification of successful upload.
You can also add multiple photos at once. Simply drag them all at once onto the window. But it’s worth noting that when you upload multiple photos, it posts each as a separate post. It doesn’t support Instagram’s new feature of uploading multiple photos in a single post.
You’ll then get the navigation arrows at the top of the image to move between them. Add your text below each one individually and then hit Share all. Another thing to be aware of is that it uploads them all immediately–it doesn’t stagger or schedule them. So you’ll end up with a bunch of posts at the same time.
I asked the developers whether there were any plans to add scheduling capabilities, and they said there aren’t because it would conflict with Instagram’s policies against automatic posting. It would also presumably add multiple layers of complexity, which would go against the simplicity-of-use of Uplet.
You can find it in the Mac App Store.
Other Alternatives
If Uplet doesn’t meet your needs, I’ve put together a list of other ways to post to Instagram from a desktop or laptop. Each has its own pros and cons. Some have features like scheduling, and some work as browser plugins.
Things Worth Knowing
The Uplet download site has some important information worth knowing. One section relates to bulk uploads:
Note: Instagram has a restriction on the number of files that can be uploaded in a given time frame. The current limit is 100 uploads in 24 hours. When it’s reached, your photos will still seem to upload normally, but you will no longer see them appearing in your feed. If you encounter this issue, wait for the next day before uploading your next photo.
And in a section called “How to avoid getting banned on Instagram,” they have several tips. Most are general tips for any Instagram posts–things like don’t post nudity, don’t post other people’s photos, don’t post about weight loss, and so on. But there’s also this specific guidance, which is useful:
Accessing your account from different IP addresses (we particularly don’t recommend running Uplet with the same Instagram account on different Macs or using it along with the native Instagram client for iOS or Android).
Where to Get Uplet
Uplet is no longer available through the Mac App Store, but there are two other ways to get it:
- It’s available directly from the developers.
- A great way to get it is through the Setup subscription, which has a 7-day free trial. Setapp gives you access to a couple of hundred great Mac for a flat monthly fee.
