Download Instagram for PC, Windows 11/10 & Mac (Free)

You can install Instagram on Windows 11 and Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store, and set it up as a desktop app on a Mac. Both give you posting, messages and Reels.

A Mac gets less than that. Instagram, Inc. publishes nothing in the Mac App Store, and the iPhone app is not offered on Apple silicon. Safari turns the website into a Dock app instead.

This guide covers which file each device needs, the four official sources, installing the site as a desktop app on Windows and Mac, what a browser cannot do, and fixes for a Store install that fails or a feed that will not load.

Which Instagram download do you need?

Match your device to a row below. Four of the seven rows need no download at all.

To read your Windows version, press Windows + R, type winver and select OK.

Download Instagram from the official sources

Meta distributes Instagram in four places. Everything else is a copy, a wrapper or a different app.

1. instagram.com, the web app — 0 · nothing to install, sign in and use it
2. Microsoft Store listing, product 9NBLGGH5L9XT — 1.4 MB · publisher Instagram, price $0.00
3. App Store, for iPhone and iPad — 609 MB · iOS 16.3 or later, seller Instagram, Inc.
4. Google Play, for Android and Chromebooks — the only route to the full app on a laptop
5. Instagram Help Center — Meta’s own instructions, with a Computer Help tab on most articles

Search results promise an Instagram setup file for Windows. None of them come from Meta. winget search Instagram –source msstore returns no package, and the community winget source lists only third-party tools built on the website.

Microsoft’s guidance is to download apps from official publisher websites or stores.

Check the Instagram system requirements

The Store app asks for almost nothing, because it installs a browser shell rather than a client.

Windows 10 reached end of support on 14 October 2025. The Store app still installs there, but the operating system under it stops receiving security updates unless the device is enrolled in consumer Extended Security Updates.

How to install Instagram on Windows 11 and 10

This route needs no Store account. Microsoft Edge turns instagram.com into a windowed app with its own taskbar icon.

1. Open Microsoft Edge and go to instagram.com.
2. Select Settings and more, the three dots at the top right.
3. Select More tools, then Apps, then Install this site as an app.
4. Type Instagram as the name, then select Install.
5. Choose whether to pin it to the taskbar and Start when Edge asks.
6. Sign in with your Instagram username and password.
7. Open edge://apps later to find, rename or remove the app.

Chrome does the same job under More, then Cast, save, and share, then Install page as app. Techdows covered Chrome’s install dialog when Google redesigned it.

Install Instagram from the Microsoft Store

The Store copy is the same website in a Microsoft-signed shell. It suits a PC where the Store manages every app, or where Edge is locked down.

1. Open Microsoft Store from the Start menu.
2. Search for Instagram, or open product 9NBLGGH5L9XT directly.
3. Check the publisher line reads Instagram.
4. Select Get, or Install if you have had the app before.
5. Wait for the 1.4 MB package, which arrives through Windows Update rather than from a website.
6. Select Open, then sign in.

There is no winget route. winget search Instagram –source msstore returns no package, so the Store front end and Edge are the two ways in.

Check that an Instagram download is genuine

Two things prove a copy came from Meta: the publisher on the Store listing, and the package identity on the PC.

1. Open the Store listing and confirm the publisher line reads Instagram.
2. Confirm the address ends in 9nblggh5l9xt, the product ID Microsoft assigns to it.
3. After installing, open PowerShell and run Get-AppxPackage -Name Facebook.InstagramBeta .
4. Confirm the PackageFullName in the output starts with Facebook.InstagramBeta_42.
5. In a browser, confirm the address bar reads instagram.com before you type a password.
6. Treat any file called InstagramSetup.exe as somebody else’s work, because Meta ships no installer.

The certificate name on the package is a bare CN=6E08453F-9BA7-4311-999C-D22FBA2FB1B8 , so the publisher line and the package name are the readable proof.

Which Instagram download do you need for your Mac?

None of them. Instagram, Inc. publishes nothing for macOS, and the iPhone app is not offered on Apple silicon Macs.

Name the web app Instagram when Safari asks, and it lands in the Applications folder in your home folder.

Is Instagram free?

Yes, on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. The Microsoft Store lists Instagram at $0.00, the App Store lists it as free with in-app purchases, and Google Play lists ads and in-app purchases. The only paid part is Meta Verified, an optional subscription sold in Standard, Plus, Premium and Max plans whose price varies by region, app and account. Any page selling an Instagram licence key, or a paid Instagram setup for PC, is charging for something Meta gives away.

Meta lists what each Meta Verified plan includes in its creator subscription article, and shows the price only once you start the subscription flow.

Should you install the Store app or instagram.com?

Install instagram.com as an app in Edge or Chrome. Both routes load the same website. Microsoft’s catalog declares the Store package an Edge web app, shipped as a 1.4 MB MSIX bundle in English (US) at package version 42.0.23.0. Installing the site yourself follows your browser’s language, extensions and update cycle, and it also works on Windows 8 and Windows 7, where the Store package does not.

Take the Store app when a PC is managed and apps have to arrive through the Store, or when a Store-managed uninstall matters more than the language of the interface.

What you can do on Instagram in a browser

Instagram documents a separate computer flow for most tasks. Stories are the one real gap.

Instagram recommends the most up-to-date version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge for the website. An old browser is the usual reason a feed loads blank.

How to check your Instagram version and update it

The website updates itself. Only the Store app and the phone apps carry a version number you can act on.

1. Open Microsoft Store, then select Library.
2. Select Get updates and let any Instagram update install.
3. To read the installed version, run Get-AppxPackage -Name Facebook.InstagramBeta | Select-Object Version in PowerShell.
4. For the website, press Ctrl + Shift + R to reload it without the cache.
5. On iPhone, open the App Store, tap your profile picture, then update Instagram from the list.
6. On Android, open Google Play, tap your profile picture, then Manage apps & device.

A web app installed from Edge shows whatever instagram.com serves at that moment.

Fix Instagram not installing or not loading on Windows 11 and 10

The Microsoft Store will not install Instagram

The PC sits below Windows 10 version 16299, or the Store cache is stale.

1. Press Windows + R, type winver and select OK to read your version.
2. Install anything pending under Settings > Windows Update.
3. Press Windows + R, type wsreset.exe and select OK. A blank window opens, closes after about ten seconds, and the Store reopens.
4. Sign in to the Store with a Microsoft account, then select Get again.
5. Install the site in Edge instead if the Store still refuses.

instagram.com will not load, or signs you straight back out

An outdated browser, or an extension blocking Instagram’s scripts and cookies.

1. Update to the current version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
2. Open a private window and load instagram.com again.
3. Turn off content-blocking extensions for instagram.com.
4. Clear cookies for instagram.com, then sign in again.
5. Open the same account on a phone to separate a browser fault from an account problem.

Install this site as an app is missing from the Edge menu

The menu path sits three levels deep, or Edge is out of date.

1. Follow Settings and more > More tools > Apps > Install this site as an app in that order.
2. Update Edge under Settings and more > Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge.
3. Open edge://apps to check the app is not already installed.
4. Use the Microsoft Store copy if the option stays greyed out.

You cannot post a story from the computer

Instagram limits stories to its phone and tablet apps.

1. Post the photo or video from the Instagram app on a phone.
2. Send the file to your phone first if it only exists on the PC.
3. Use the browser for feed posts, reels and messages instead.

A site offers an Instagram setup file for Windows

Meta ships no installer, so the file was built by somebody else.

1. Close the page without running the file.
2. Delete the download.
3. Install from the Microsoft Store listing or from instagram.com instead.
4. Sign in only on a page whose address bar reads instagram.com.

How to uninstall Instagram from Windows 11 and 10

The route depends on how it went on. Neither one touches your account.

1. For the Store app, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Select the three dots beside Instagram, select Uninstall, then confirm.
3. For the Edge web app, open edge://apps .
4. Select Details on the Instagram card, then Uninstall.
5. Tick the box that clears app data if you want the sign-in removed, then select Uninstall again.
6. On a Mac, open the Applications folder in your home folder and drag the Instagram web app to the Trash.

Removing the app leaves the account alone. Deleting or deactivating it is a separate job on Instagram’s delete or deactivate page.

Chrome’s installed web apps also appear in Windows Settings > Apps, a change Techdows covered in Chrome 99.

What to use instead of an Instagram desktop app

Every option below comes from Meta, Microsoft, Apple or Google. Third-party Instagram clients for Windows do not.

A Chromebook is the one laptop that runs the real Instagram app. Techdows takes the same browser route with Google Meet on the desktop, which has no native app either.

Frequently asked questions

Is Instagram free to download?

Yes. The Microsoft Store lists it at $0.00, and the App Store and Google Play both list it as free. Meta Verified is the only paid part, and it is optional.

Is there an Instagram .exe or offline installer for PC?

No. Meta publishes no .exe, .msi or .dmg. The Microsoft Store app arrives as a 1.4 MB package through Windows Update, so the PC needs an internet connection either way.

What is the official Instagram download page?

instagram.com for the website, the Microsoft Store listing for product 9NBLGGH5L9XT on Windows, the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and Google Play for Android and Chromebooks.

Does Instagram work on Windows 11?

Yes. The Store app installs on Windows 10 version 16299.0 or higher, which covers every Windows 11 build. The website works in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari.

How big is the Instagram download?

The Windows package is 1.4 MB to download and 1.6 MB once installed. The iPhone app is 609 MB. Installing the website as an app downloads nothing at all.

Is there an Instagram app for Mac?

No. Instagram, Inc. publishes no Mac app, and the iPhone app is not offered on Apple silicon. On macOS Sonoma 14 or later, Safari’s File then Add to Dock turns instagram.com into a web app.

Is there a 64-bit or ARM64 Instagram download?

No. The Store package is x86 and neutral, and it runs on 64-bit and ARM64 Windows without a separate build. The website has no architecture to choose.

Can I download an older version of Instagram for PC?

No. Microsoft serves only the current Store package, and Meta publishes no version archive. Sites offering old Instagram builds for Windows are handing out somebody else’s file.

Is the Instagram app on the Microsoft Store safe?

It is published by Instagram, delivered through Windows Update, and rated 4.3 stars from 18,754 ratings. Check the publisher line reads Instagram before you select Get.

Which Instagram version is current?

The Microsoft Store package is 42.0.23.0 and the iPhone app is 446.0.0. The website carries no version number, so it is current whenever it loads.

Why will Instagram not install on my PC?

The usual causes are a Windows build below 16299, a stale Microsoft Store cache, or a Store you are not signed in to. Run winver, then wsreset.exe, then sign in and retry.

Can I post a story from a computer?

No. Instagram states that the feature is not available on computers. Feed posts, carousels, reels up to 20 minutes and direct messages all work in a browser.

Is Edits free?

Yes. Edits: Video Editor is a free app from Instagram, Inc. for iPhone and Android, and it needs iOS 16.3 or later on an iPhone. There is no PC or Mac version.

How do I download my own Instagram photos and videos?

Use the export tool Instagram documents under Review and export a copy of your Instagram information. It builds a copy of your posts, photos and messages and emails a download link.