Download Instagram Photos in High Resolution

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Karen Lin

Instagram 101 | Sep 15, 2023

Want More Real Instagram Followers?

Instagram is great for sharing and browsing beautiful photos. And there are many reasons a user may want to download Instagram photos shared by others. Unfortunately, Instagram does not allow downloading of other people’s images. You can always take a screenshot whenever a striking image catches your fancy! But if you want to preserve the quality of an image, what options do you have to download a photo from Instagram?

DSLR camera lens for high-quality photographs.

Can You Download Somebody Else’s Instagram Photos?

Unfortunately, Instagram does not allow users to download photos from other accounts. You are only allowed to download Instagram photos that are yours. You have the option to save posts shared by others to a collection. You can create different collections for your account to categorize the photos and videos you save.

Of course, you can always take screenshots of Instagram photos if you want to save a copy on your device. Screenshots will give you poor-quality photos, however. But a screenshot may serve your purpose if you only need a photo for a quick reference.

If you simply want to share another user’s post with your friends and followers, you have several share options to choose from:

  • Hit the paper airplane icon below the post to share it via DM.
  • Tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the post and select “Share to,” “Copy link,” or “Embed.” These options allow you to share the post on other platforms, via email, on your website, etc.

The above share options are acceptable as they give proper attribution to the post’s original owner. Take note that using other people’s photos without proper attribution goes against Instagram’s copyright guidelines, which we’ll discuss in more detail later.

How to Download Instagram Photos

You can download your private photos or Instagram photos shared by other users with the help of third-party tools. Let’s check out your options.

Download Private Instagram Photos

You’re allowed to download your photos, of course! Perhaps you want to have a backup copy of your Instagram images. Or you’re extremely happy with the finished product after editing a photo using Instagram’s amazing tools. Or maybe you need to save high-quality copies of your Instagram photos to your computer for a digital presentation or printing.

You can automatically save photos you edit on Instagram to your phone. Here’s how to download Instagram photos from your profile.

  1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
  2. Tap more options in the top right, then tap Settings.
  3. Tap Account, then tap Original posts.
  4. Tap the toggle switch next to Save original posts to turn it on.
  5. Tap the toggle switch next to Save posted photos/Save posted videos to turn it on.

Turning on the Save original posts and/or Save posted photos/Save posted videos will automatically download Instagram photos to your phone’s library after you share them on your profile. Take note that Instagram photos may take a while to appear in your photo library if you’re using an Android phone.

Download Multiple Instagram Photos to Your Computer

Do you need to download multiple Instagram photos to back up your Instagram photos to your computer? Do you want to save high-quality copies of your tagged photos on Instagram? Or do you want to download Instagram photos from another person’s feed or Stories? Check out 4k Stogram, which is available for both Windows and MacOS.

You can enjoy the following features from 4k Stogram:

  • Download multiple photos by Instagram username or by hashtag. You’ll be able to automatically save photos in a separate folder per username, together with their original captions. 
  • Save private Instagram content with permission from a family or friend’s Instagram account. 
  • Download Instagram Stories and Highlights from other accounts to get permanent offline access. 
  • Download Instagram videos. 
  • Save Instagram posts by date. 

The free version allows you to download up to 200 Instagram photos daily. You can spring for unlimited downloads and enjoy all other features with their paid yearly or lifetime subscriptions.

Screenshot of 4k Stogram being used to download Instagram photos by username or hashtag.

Download Photos to Your Android or iPhone Device

Try iGram if you want to download Instagram photos from the Instagram app to your Android or iPhone device. You can download single images or multiple photos from an Instagram Carousel post by simply copying and pasting the post link. You’ll get the same photo quality that the original photo has.

Note that this is an online service you can only access through the website. So you don’t need to download an app to save Instagram pictures you like.

Download Instagram Profile Photo From a Link

Yes! There’s also a way to download an Instagram profile photo from a link. Using Save Insta requires a few more steps than just copying and pasting a link. This is understandable, however, as downloading somebody else’s profile photo is trickier. Just follow these steps:

  1. Go to the profile page of the person whose profile photo you want to download. 
  2. Copy the profile link in the browser bar. 
  3. Open the Save Insta Profile Downloader and paste the profile link in the box next to the “View” button. 
  4. Click “View.”
  5. You may have to scroll down a bit to see the image when it loads. Click “Zoom HD Image.”
  6. It will take a few seconds for the HD image to load. Once it does, click “Download Image.”

Note that you can only download Instagram photos using Save Insta through its website. But you can use the site to save photos to your pc, Android device, or iPhone.

Download Instagram Photos on Chrome

Another online tool you can use if you prefer to download Instagram photos to your computer via Chrome is Save-o-gram. With Save-o-gram Instagram Downloader, you can download photos from any Instagram account in their original format or in a .zip file in just 3 steps:

  1. Copy and paste the Instagram username or link. 
  2. Check “Select them all” or manually select the photos you want to download. 
  3. Click “Download selected photos” or “Download in .Zip format.” You can also directly print your selected photos. 

You may also check out the free Instagram Download Tool from Path Social. You have two options to download images from Instagram. You can download a single image by copying the image link and pasting it to the Instagram Download Tool URL box. Or you can copy the profile link to download all available pictures and videos as one pack. You can only use the profile download by signing up for a Path Social account.

Person taking a photo using a professional camera.

Why You May Need to Download High-Quality Photos From Instagram

You may want to download Instagram photos from your page to save a backup copy of all your content on another device. This may be necessary if you want to deactivate or delete your Instagram account or create a new one.

Having a backup copy on your computer or an external hard drive is also a good decision in case you lose your phone and normally use the platform on your phone. Saving files in an external hard drive is the best option in case your computer crashes or gets attacked by a virus.

It’s even more important to download high-quality Instagram photos so you can use them for your business account on Instagram. So make sure to choose the best Instagram photo downloader tools for this purpose.

There are tons of reasons that you may wish to download Instagram photos from other accounts without loss of quality. Here are some of them:

  • To use as inspiration or reference for a creative project, marketing plan, etc. 
  • To use as inspiration for your personal style, for an event, etc. 
  • To print out for detailed analysis, such as for artistic study
  • To edit and enhance for personal use
  • To add to a personal collection
  • To repost photos with high resolution on your social media pages to get more likes

Downloading Instagram photos with high resolution displayed on computer screen.

What Not to Do After You Download Instagram Photos From Other Users

After downloading Instagram photos posted by other users, keep in mind that you’re not supposed to use them anywhere else without permission from the owner. If you want to share these photos online, make sure to properly attribute the original account that posted/created them. Avoid doing the following with photos that you do not own.

  • Sharing other people’s photos on Instagram or other social media platforms without the owner’s permission and proper attribution. 
  • Sharing other people’s photos and claiming them as your own. 
  • Downloading other people’s photos to sell them. 
  • Downloading and printing other people’s photos to display them in a public space or place of business without the owner’s permission. 
  • Using other people’s photos to market similar products you’re selling.

You can also familiarize yourself with Instagram’s copyright guidelines. You can learn about how to protect your own copyrighted works and how to avoid infringing other people’s copyrights when you post on Instagram. The guidelines also discuss how Instagram addresses reports of copyright infringement.

Here’s a key section in the guidelines that sums up how copyright works:

In general, the person who creates an original work owns the copyright. For example, if you create a painting, you likely own the copyright for that painting. Similarly, if you take a photo, you likely own the copyright for that photo.

There may be situations where you might think you have a copyright in a creative work, but you may not. For example:
– If you appear in a photo or video, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a copyright in that photo or video. (Learn more about what to do if you think a photo or video on Instagram might violate your privacy.)
– If you photograph a sculpture, that doesn’t mean you have the right to prevent someone else from also taking a photograph of the same sculpture.
– If you create a work as part of your regular job responsibilities, you might not be the owner of the copyright in that work. Instead, there are circumstances where the law will consider your employer to be the “author” of that work for copyright purposes.

Growing Your Instagram Audience With Beautiful Content

Truly beautiful photographs require a good eye for striking shots, some degree of skill, a decent camera, and the right timing. On Instagram, gorgeous images are commonplace, so you need to put all your effort into each and every piece of content you share if you want to be noticed by your audience.

Capturing the original quality of stunning images shared by others is necessary if you want to share the content with your Instagram followers. Remember that when sharing other people’s posts, you must do justice to the beauty of the original content so your audience can truly appreciate it. Advanced online tools will help you download Instagram photos.

Targeting the right audience for your content is another story, however. Consider giving the job to an expert in Instagram growth so you can focus on creating consistently amazing content for your brand. Team up with Path Social, a social media growth agency with a proven track record in the industry.

Path Social uses a proprietary AI targeting technology for precise audience targeting. This ensures that you’ll get the right audience for your content based on the targeting filters you select. Their in-house social media specialists and network of influencers will help you promote your content using organic and time-tested marketing strategies.

With Path Social, you can expect steady growth with real people genuinely interested in your brand. Trusted by more than 20 thousand Instagram brands across all niches and industries, Path Social is your best bet for lasting and rewarding growth. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today!