Instagram Hacks: 57 Tricks and Features You Probably Didn’t Know About

Author: Kendall Walters / Source: Hootsuite Social Media Management

Master these Instagram hacks and start posting like a pro.

Table of contents

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps an adventure photographer used to grow from 0 to 110,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

General Instagram hacks

1. Stop seeing posts and/or Stories from specific accounts you follow

Mute annoying users without the risk of offending them with an unfollow.

How to do it:

1. Tap the … icon in the corner of a post from the account you want to mute
2. Click mute
3. From there, you can choose whether to mute posts, or mute posts and Stories from the account
4. You can also mute posts and Stories by pressing and holding on a Story in your tray, or from a profile

2. Rearrange the order of your filters

Put your most-used filters up front for faster posting.

How to do it:

1. When posting a photo or video, go to Filter
2. Scroll to the end of your filters and tap Manage
3. Press and hold the three line icon next to each filter on the left-hand side of the screen to rearrange the order of your filters
4. Check or uncheck the circles next to each filter on the right-hand side of the screen to hide or unhide filters
5. Click Done to save your settings

3. See all the posts you’ve liked

Looking for inspiration? Why not review what’s already inspired you.

How to do it:

1. Go to your profile
2. Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to Options
3. Tap Posts You’ve Liked

4. Clear your search history

Don’t let anyone who has access to your phone know how obsessed you are with your frenemies.

How to do it:

1. Tap your profile image icon to go to your profile
2. Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to Options
3. Scroll to the bottom, then tap Clear Search History

5. Hide specific search queries

Permanently remove specific searches (accounts, hashtags, places, etc.) from appearing in the search bar.

How to do it:

1. Tap the magnifying glass icon to visit the search page
2. Tap the search bar at the top of the screen
3. Tap and hold the search you’d like to hide from your history (below Top or Recent), then tap Hide

6. Get notifications when your favorite users post new content

Never miss a post from your favorite people and brands!

How to do it:

1. Visit the the profile page of the account you’d like to get notifications for
2. Tap the three dots icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen
3. Select Turn on Post Notifications

Note: If you’ve changed your mind, the option to turn off notifications lives in the same spot.

7. Add and manage multiple accounts

You don’t need to log in and out to switch between accounts.

How to do it:

1. Tap the person icon at the bottom of the screen to visit your profile
2. Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to Options
3. Scroll to the bottom and select Add Account
4. Enter the username and password for the account you’d like to add
5. Once you’ve added a second (or third, fourth, or fifth) account, the profile icon in the navigation bar will change from the silhouette of a person to your profile image
6. To switch between accounts, go to your profile
7. Tap your username at the top of the screen
8. Tap the account you’d like to switch to

Note: You can add up to five accounts.

8. Pin your Instagram post to Pinterest

Pinterest isn’t listed as one of the network choices when sharing a post from Instagram, but there are workarounds for both Instagram mobile and desktop.

How to do it on mobile:

1. Go to the post you’d like to Pin
2. Tap the three dots icon located above your post to the right
3. Select Copy Share URL to copy the post link to your clipboard
4. Open the Pinterest app on your mobile device
5. Tap on your profile image icon to visit your profile
6. Tap the plus sign icon at the top right of the screen to add a new Pin
7. An “Add a board or Pin” menu will appear, select Copied link
8. Pinterest will automatically open the link saved to your clipboard
9. Choose the image you’d like to Pin and finish posting as usual

How to do it on desktop:

1. Visit Instagram.com and find the post you’d like to Pin
2. Right click on the post and select Open Link in New Window
3. Use the Pinterest browser button to choose the image you’d like to Pin and finish posting as usual

9. Delete comments

Whether you need to hide an offensive comment or erase a typo, deleting comments is easy.

How to delete your own comment:

1. Tap the speech bubble icon beneath the post you commented on
2. Find the comment you’d like to delete
3. Swipe to the left over the comment
4. Tap the trash can icon

How to delete another user’s comment on your post:

1. Tap the speech bubble icon beneath the post containing the comment you’d like to delete
2. Swipe to the left over the comment
3. A partial swipe will bring up a trio of options, allowing you to reply, flag, or delete a comment
4. Tap the trash can icon—or continue swiping to the left—to delete the comment

10. Filter and block comments based on keywords

Dealing with a social media troll? Comment controls allow you to filter and block comments containing specific keywords.

How to do it:

1. Select your profile image icon to visit your profile
2. Tap the gear icon on iOS or the three dots on Android to go to Options
3. Choose Comment Controls
4. Toggle the Hide Offensive Comments option on
5. This feature will hide comments that contain words or phrases that are often reported as offensive
6. You can also choose to add your own list of custom keywords that you’d like hidden from your posts

11. Turn off comments on a particular post

How to do it:

1. Begin posting a photo or video as usual
2. When you reach the screen where you add a caption, location, and other tags, select Advanced Settings
3. Toggle the Turn Off Commenting option on

Note: you can change this setting even after a post has been published by going to the post, tapping the three dot icon above it, and selecting Turn On Commenting. You can also turn off comments on a previously published post by following these same steps.

12. Save and organize posts where only you can see them

The perfect hack for squirrelling away bits of inspiration. Or use this feature to keep tabs on your competitors.

How to do it:

1. Go to a post you’d like to save
2. Tap the bookmark icon underneath the post you want to save
3. Add the post to an existing collection or tap the + icon to create and name a new one
4. To see your saved posts and collections, visit your profile and tap the matching bookmark icon (next to the Photos of You icon) to go the Saved tab

13. Remove old posts from your profile without deleting them

This is possible thanks to Instagram’s archive feature.

How to do it:

1. Tap … at the top of the post you want to remove
2. Select Archive
3. Tap the Archive icon in the top right corner of your profile to review all archived posts
4. If you want to restore content to your public profile, simply tap Show on Profile at any time and it’ll show up in its original spot

14. Zoom in on a post

How to do it:

1. Go to the post you’d like to zoom in on
2. Pinch using two fingers and slowing the pull them farther apart
3. Enjoy the details

Starting today, you can pinch to zoom on photos and videos in feed, on profiles and on Explore. Dive into an adorable puppy’s smile or into every detail of your friend’s new shirt. Over the past six months, you’ve seen many exciting changes come to Instagram, from a new icon to longer videos and even a new way to share everyday moments with Instagram Stories. And as things change, we’re still focused on improving the core parts of Instagram. Zoom is available today for Instagram on iOS. Zoom will be available on Android in the coming weeks.

Instagram hacks for photo and video sharing

15. Make your captions more readable with line breaks

If you favor the long-form caption a la National Geographic, this hack will make your posts more readable.

How to do it:

1. Edit your photo and proceed to the caption screen
2. Write your caption
3. To access the Return key, tap the 123 key on your device’s keyboard
4. Use Return to add breaks to your caption

Note: The breaks will start a new line, but not create the white space that you would see between two paragraphs. If you want a paragraph break, write out your caption in a note app and copy it to Instagram. To break up lines further, consider using punctuation, such as bullet points or dashes, to hold the place of an empty line.

16. Schedule Instagram posts

Too busy to post at a time when your audience is active on Instagram? Use Hootsuite to schedule photos direct to Instagram.

How to do it:

Note: Check out our guide to scheduling posts on Instagram to learn how to do this from a personal account.

17. Use individual photos to make a larger one

Get creative and have fun with Instagram’s grid format.

How to do it:

1. To share a #triplegram, simple share three related images consecutively so that they take up an entire line with a single unified look
2. To share a grid post series, try cropping a single image into nine (apps like these can make the process easy) and share them in quick succession

For a closer look at how brands have made good use of the grid layout, check out 7 Lessons Brands Can Learn from the Most Creative Accounts on Instagram.

18. Adjust the intensity of filters

For those who want something close to—but not quite—the #nofilter look.

How to do it:

1. After uploading or taking a photo, tap the filter you’d like to use
2. Tap the filter again to open edit options
3. Use the sliding scale to adjust the intensity of the filter
4. Tap Done to add the filter to your post and continue your edits

19. Upload or capture a post with multiple scenes

It’s an Instagram Story that never disappears!

How to upload a post with multiple photos and video clips:

1. Tap the + icon in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen
2. Tap SELECT MULTIPLE on the Library tab
3. Choose the photos and videos from your camera roll that you want to include in your Story
4. Choose and edit your filters (you can choose a different filter for each photo or video or make it consistent across the entire post)
5. Once you’ve selected your videos, you can tap to trim them or press and hold to reorder
6. To delete a clip, drag it to the centre of the screen
7. Finish your edits as usual and share your masterpiece

How to record a video with multiple clips:

1. Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen
2. Tap Video
3. Tap the circle icon to begin recording
4. To take multiple clips, lift your finger off the circle icon to pause, then press and hold it when you want to begin recording again
5. To delete a previous clip in your video, tap Delete, then tap again to confirm

20. Share videos without sound

If the audio is bad and/or doesn’t add to the viewing experience, you may as well remove so it’s not a distraction.

How to do it:

1. Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen to select the video you’d like to upload
2. Tap Next
3. Tap the volume control icon at the top of the screen to mute the video’s sound

Note: This can also be done in Instagram Stories. After recording a video, simply tap the volume control icon at the top of the screen to mute.

21. Save drafts for later

You’ve snapped the perfect shot and edited it to perfection, but the perfect caption eludes you. Save the post as a draft—with all your edits intact—and come back to it later.

How to do it:

1. Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen to shoot or upload a photo or video
2. Edit the post as you like, adding filters, captions, tags, or a location
3. Hit the < icon in the upper left-hand corner of the screen to go back to the editing screen
4. Hit the < icon again
5. A pop-up menu will appear, select Save Draft
6. When you’re ready to continue with your edits and share your post, tap the + icon, then select Library
7. A new DRAFTS section will now appear above CAMERA ROLL
8. Tap your desired post, or select Manage to view all of your saved drafts
9. Select a post, edit, and share as usual

Note: To delete a post from your saved posts, select Manage to go to Drafts, then tap Edit. Select the posts you’d like to get rid of and tap Discard Posts at the bottom of the screen, then tap again to confirm.

22. Blur the background on a portrait photo

How to do it:

1. Open the camera and select Focus among the options under the record button
2. Take…

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