How to save photos from Instagram

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Wondering how to save photos from Instagram? Unfortunately, a feature within everyone's favorite photo-sharing app doesn’t exist. While there’s a simple setting feature to save your own posts, it gets a bit trickier if you wish to download a full-resolution .JPG version of a photo from a different user’s account.

Of course, this is by design — you didn't capture the photo, so you probably don't have the copyright to use it. Luckily there’s still a way to save those photos using a web browser. We will show you step-by-step how to save photos from Instagram, whether they’re your own posts or others’.

Why can’t I save photos from Instagram?

Instagram’s copyright rules may explain why the app makes it difficult to save photo posts. If you took an Instagram photo or video, you own the copyright in that post. As the owner of the content, you can prohibit other users from copying or distributing your photos and videos. In an effort to regulate the behavior of 1 billion users, Instagram hinders copyright infringement by omitting an option to save photos directly from the app. For more details, here’s an outline of Instagram’s copyright rules.

How to save your Instagram photos to camera roll

Maybe you want to save photos you take using Instagram’s in-app camera; or maybe you want to save an edited version to your phone’s photo library. Either way, saving your Instagram images to your camera roll is simple. Just enable this one setting in your account and your IG photos will save automatically.

1. Go to your profile page and tap the icon with three horizontal lines in the top right corner.

2. Tap Settings at the bottom of the menu and select ‘Account.’

3. Select ‘Original Photos’ and tap the toggle button next to ‘Save Original Photos.’ As long as this option is turned on, any image you post on Instagram will save to your camera roll.

How to save photos from Instagram

If you’re not scared of a little coding, there’s a neat feature in the Google Chrome Browser that can help you save photos from Instagram without taking a screenshot.

1. Open Instagram and find the photo you want to save.

2. Tap thee ellipses icon (…) at the top right above the photo you want to save.

3. Select ‘Go to post’ from the pop out menu.

4. Right-click and choose “View page source.’

5. Press Ctrl+F and enter ‘.jpg’ in the search box.

6. Highlight the first link with a .jpg you find and copy.

7. Open a new web browser tab and paste the link.

8. Right-click and save the photo to your computer.

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Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She covers smartwatches, TVs and audio devices, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.