Photo: wichayada suwanachun (Shutterstock)
Instagram’s website design isn’t exactly the epitome of user experience. At best, it can be described as usable. You can use it to view your feed, stories, and you can finally even post photos from the website. But just being usable isn’t enough. That’s why it’s time to improve Instagram’s web experience using these Chrome extensions to convert it into an app, add a downloader, access video controls, use dark mode, and more.
You’ll find many ways to convert the Instagram website into an app, but this Chrome extension does a damn good job on its own. It gives you an Instagram mobile app on your computer that makes Instagram’s interface a lot more usable. From the app’s toolbar, you can upload photos and IGTV videos, quickly take and share screenshots, and use dark mode.
Want to save Instagram Stories or record Instagram Lives? Stories App makes it as easy as clicking a download button in photos, videos, and Stories. Another benefit? You can watch stories anonymously. And next time you’re watching an Instagram Live, you’ll see an option to record and save the video so you can come back to it any time you want.
By default, Instagram’s video player on the feed doesn’t have any controls. You can’t play, pause, or switch to full screen. The Controls for Instagram Videos extension adds all these features to the Instagram website. Plus, you can tap the three-dotted menu button to get an option to download the video, or to view it in a picture-in-picture window.
Many extensions come with built-in dark modes, but if you are only looking to add a dark mode to the Instagram website (and nothing else), try the Night Mode for Instagram extension. It’s a simple, one-click extension. Click the extension icon and switch to the dark mode, click it again to go back to the light mode.
FastSave is an all-in-one Instagram extension for downloading content from Instagram. Plus, it gives you an option to switch between desktop and mobile layouts. You’ll find the FastSave button everywhere—next to photos, videos, and Stories.
The generic-label Extension for Instgram does quite a lot, but two of its features really stand out. First is its floating mini-player for Instagram videos that lets you watch videos while browsing the feed. And second, is the fact that it makes links in comments actually clickable, solving potentially the biggest annoyance on Instagram as a platform.
Layoutify: Get a grid of Instagram posts
The Instagram website on your desktop wastes quite a lot of screen space. The left and the right parts are empty, and you can only see one post at a time. What if you could see four or six posts at a time? Layoutify makes that happen. Once installed, it will show Instagram posts in a grid format, and loads images in high-quality format. There’s also support for night mode. Click the three-dotted menu button, and it will show you a grid of your liked posts and your saved collections.
