Instagram - what is it and how to use it? How to delete "Instagram"? Detailed instructions on how to use Instagram

How the multi-million dollar social network Instagram was born

A detailed tour that will help you answer the question "Instagram" - what is it?", Let's start with a brief description and history of the origin of the program.

Public photo diary

The history of the creation of "Instagram"

It all started with the fact that this idea seemed interesting to Michael Krieger and Kevin Systrom, who were creating their new mobile photography project in San Francisco. In March 2010, they received the first major investment in the amount of 500 thousand US dollars, and already in October their development appeared in the Apple application store. It is important to note here that originally Instagram was intended to be used only on the IOS platform.

Later, a few more people joined the team, including developer Shane Sweeney, who contributed significantly to the development of Insagram. The social network improved and grew: if in February 2011 the company was valued at $ 25 million, then a year later it was bought by Facebook for a billion US dollars! Is this not a reason to consider the project as something special and truly grandiose? will not buy anything. However, the number of users who installed the application on their smartphone confirms the success of the development: from a million people in 2010 to more than 150 million worldwide today.

Enough about the success and scale of the project, let's take a closer look at the possibilities of the resource, because in three years they have managed to expand quite a lot.

Opportunities that Instagram opens up for its users

Instagram is a huge fascinating world that fits in your phone. This resource really expands the boundaries and allows you to see what we never dreamed of before: from the most hidden places in different countries of the world, which the traveler himself shared through a snapshot, to observing the life of his neighbor / classmate or his cat. In general, there is everything here. Let's start with the very basics and consider the most effective and fruitful. The purpose of the application is to share photos and get more likes, as well as to like and comment on the photos you like, find interesting pictures and thereby learn more about things that interest you.

Application installation and registration procedure

The first thing to do is download Instagram to your phone. You can download the program for free (and only in this way) in the corresponding application store: Appstore for IOS and GooglePlay for Android. Next, you need to come up with a nickname and password for yourself, which will be the key to entering your personal account, enter your email address and phone number. It will take no more than two or three minutes to register on Instagram. Now you become a full member of the social network and can safely start your activity, which consists in uploading photos and writing comments, as well as liking other users.

First steps in the new social network

After completing the registration procedure, you will be asked to subscribe, on Instagram this is called follow (from English follow), to all your friends and acquaintances from Facebook. This is quite logical, especially for someone who has just started using the application. You have to follow someone's updates and share your pictures uploaded to Instagram with someone, get likes and comments. In addition, you can immediately follow the feeds of currently popular personalities on Instagram (it is not necessary to do this, only if you are really interested). Well, and one more suggestion - the opportunity to receive information about various events held and events that have taken place. The app will ask you to access the photos in your gallery so that you can post them to your feed in the future. So, the formal procedure is over. The fun begins - uploading and viewing photos!

How to share photos?

We go into the application and click on the icon in the form of a camera at the bottom of the screen. You are prompted to choose one of the following actions:

The second point is usually used - take your picture or photograph something that caught your attention (and, naturally, you thought that the whole world should know about it, or at least your friends and subscribers). Next, click the "Finish" button and start processing the photo. First of all, it needs to be cut. Very important note! The difference between Instagram photos is that they are always square (as they were on old Kodak and Polaroids). If you are satisfied with the result, follow the green arrow (at the top of the screen) to the next step.

Processing photos with filters

And the next step will be all the adorable filters and effects. Instagram is not just a social network, it is also a very good photo editor. We apply one of the numerous filters to a fresh, but still "raw" photo and, voila, your picture turns into the work of a real photo artist in no time! It also conveys the atmosphere, mood and other, so important sensations that become available through photos to other users. Below we will take a closer look at some of the most interesting effects:

amaro - increases the amount of light in the picture, weakens the center of the photo, while increasing the exposure, can also be used to make the photo slightly aged;
rise - makes the colors in the picture softer and warmer with an emphasis on yellow tints, gives the photo a glow;
hudson - allows you to change the color scheme in the photo towards colder tones, well suited for photographs of architecture;
sierra - reduces the contrast of colors, gives the effect of shooting on a cloudy day;
X-Pro II - used to create a vintage effect, makes the colors in the photo brighter, juicier, more cheerful;
earlybird - focuses on reddish-gold tones, creates a feeling of warmth, charring the edges of the photo (the atmosphere of old cowboy films);
sutro - creates a gloomy, ominous atmosphere in the picture, is used to give the photo a special entourage;
branan - helps to give the photo an atmosphere of the 80s, enhances the contrast of colors, adds a hint of metal;
inkwell - used to create black and white pictures;
nashwille - gives softness, makes the colors of the picture pastel, well suited for romantic photos;
1977 - Creates a 70s effect with soft colors and shifting them towards the red spectrum.

The listed types of filters are not all that the photo editor can offer, but only some of them. The unique photo-editing "Instagram", available to users of this social network, allows you to turn an ordinary photo into a real masterpiece and pull out even not very successful shots, so use it.

Using tags: why are they needed?

The edited photo must be described. Previously, only standard comments were available on photos, such as: “Enjoying the sunset and tasting the delicious local wine”, “My cat loves me”, “How do you like my new dress?”, “Riding in a packed bus. I hate Monday mornings .. .". Now the possibilities of users have expanded, and the meaning of the descriptions has changed somewhat. Now you can and should add tags to regular comments.

Instagram uses them as a kind of "markers" or keywords by which users can search for photos on a topic of interest to them. To do this, you just need to enter in the search the word that best defines your interest at the moment, and put a # sign in front of it. For example, if you want to see all the photos taken in Kaliningrad, enter the tag (also called a hashtag, from the English hashteg) #kaliningrad and enjoy the presented selection.

In addition, by adding a tag to your photo (in the description or in the comments), you get the opportunity to earn more likes, and then new Instagram followers will appear. What is it for? Probably to amuse your pride, and just fascinating. After adding the tag you want, you can click on it and find other users who have also used it. So you can not only expand your horizons, but also find friends with the same interests.

How can a tag help make your photos popular?

It is important to note that you yourself can influence how many people see your creations. By adding not one, but several tags under the photo, you expand your potential audience, since your pictures are displayed not by one, but by several queries. For example, you lie on the beach of Thailand "Kata Noi" and watch the sun slowly set over the horizon. And a surfer passed by with a board in his hands. You can add tags under the picture that captured this moment: #asia #thailand #thai #kata_noi #kata_beach #sunset #serfer #relax and the like. Then you will significantly increase your chances of being seen and, of course, get more likes under the photo. By the way, you can also write them in Russian: #asia #thailand #beach #surfer, etc. The total number of tags cannot exceed 30 pieces, but this is a lot, right?

Contests, events and flash mobs on Instagram

All these events, which bring together millions of users around the world, are also made possible through the use of hashtags. With their help, people share experiences, blog on various topics, or achieve some goals together. For example, in the #so I shoot section, experienced photographers share tips on how to shoot the right way, how to find ideas for your photos, and other interesting and useful details. And the #sekta tag unites people who strive to lead a healthy sports lifestyle and inspire others with their results. Or, for example, a special #RHPNewYearHoliday tag was timed to celebrate the New Year, with the help of which users shared the secrets of their preparation for this universal holiday.

Events can bring together a small group of people, and can reach global proportions. For example, some contests among Instagram users are sponsored by organizations such as the UN or the Japanese government. Well, a modern way to attract a large number of people to any issue.

What's new?

Let's talk a little about the innovations that were not originally on Instagram. What is this large-scale and interesting thing that developers have added to the application?

Tag your friends in the photo!

One of the nice things was the ability to tag other users in your photos (this feature is well known to those who actively use Facebook or VKontakte). Accordingly, now each member of the Instagram social network has a section in his personal account, where all the photos in which he was tagged are presented. In this way, you can not only tell about the people who are present in your picture, but also draw the attention of specific friends to the posted photo by tagging them on it.

Don't want a photo? Upload video!

Another, even bigger and more interesting update is the ability to upload short videos (no more than 15 seconds long) that also have Instagram effects applied to them. In total, 13 filters are currently offered for processing video material. This new feature is very convenient and greatly expands the scope for creativity and the exchange of emotions (after all, there are moments that photography simply cannot convey). Now Instagram has become even more interesting, which means that the number of users of this social network has increased markedly.

Other amenities

In addition to those mentioned, other additions appeared on Instagram. For example, now you can add not only a description/tags, but also indicate the location where the photo was taken.

Cross-posting has also become available in the application, that is, photos added to Instagram can be automatically uploaded to other resources, such as Facebook or Twitter. You just need to make the appropriate settings in your profile: menu "Preferences", "Publishing settings". Now you do not need to do double work, uploading photos first to one, then to another network.

Searching Instagram can be a cause for sadness

And now let's dispel a little the iridescent atmosphere that has enveloped this grandiose photographic service. As it turned out, not everyone is so pleased with the beautiful pictures of a beautiful life, posted in tons on this social network. This assumption (rather, even the statement) was expressed by the Western edition of Slate. And here is a perfectly logical explanation. The fact is that users tend to take pictures and share them with others in the happiest moments of their lives. Someone flew to rest and "posted" pictures from chic beaches-restaurants, someone bought a new foreign car (or just drove it and posted a photo from the scene), someone has fun with friends in the club, and someone arrange a romantic evening with your loved one. Yes, these photos are gaining a large number of likes, but they create a mood ... sad.

Instagram and our subconscious

Joyful or chic pictures affect the subconscious of most people in the opposite way, causing them to feel envy, irritation and anger at themselves and their lives. After all, it always seems that the neighbor's grass is greener, and here it is right before your eyes - in your phone. Even if a person leads a normal everyday life with daily going to work and household chores, but a photo posted by him from an incendiary party (which he attends once every six months), followed by a photo from a cozy cafe or a recently bought new thing will do their job. It seems to us that people on Instagram are absolutely happy, their life is rich, interesting and beautiful, and ours is boring and monotonous. This is how our thinking works, and Instagram reinforces this feeling.

By the way, as it turned out, those users who post photos, but do not gain the expected number of likes, also "suffer". Based on all this, the popular social network was erected on a kind of "pedestal of honor" and named the most depressing in the ranking of social projects.

Delete Instagram from your life

If you recognize yourself in the situation described above and think that Instagram does not have the best effect on your mood, or simply takes time, then the following guide is especially for you. Next, we will consider how to delete Instagram if for some reason it has ceased to please you.

Even though Instagram is a smartphone app, it cannot be uninstalled from this device. You need a computer or at least a browser on your phone (for example, Safari). This is probably done so that users do not delete their accounts in a fit of emotion, thoughtlessly. So, if you have made the decision to stop using the social network, then here is a guide to deleting your account:

Open your internet browser and go to the Instagram home page.
Sign in to your account by entering your password.
Click on the icon with your username and photo, located in the upper left corner. A list will open: we are interested in the "Edit profile" item.
On the page that opens, in the lower right corner you will see the link "I would like to delete my account", click on it.
Next, you will be asked to explain the reason why you decided to say goodbye to Instagram. Select the one that best suits your situation from the drop-down list. If nothing matches, check "Other".
Now you will need to re-enter your account password and click the "Delete my account permanently" button.

Here is such an easy way to delete Instagram if for some reason you no longer like it. However, before doing this, you should think carefully, because you break the little thread that connects you with such a large and different world of other people.

Privacy on Instagram

What is a social network? First of all, this is the removal of one's life for review, publicity to some extent. So let's look at another common situation. Some people enjoy using this social network, but want to make their profile inaccessible to everyone. There can be many reasons for this, but the essence is the same - to hide your photos from unwanted eyes. Read on to learn how to close Instagram for a wide audience.

The first thing to do is go to settings - the icon in the left corner of your profile. Among the menu items that open, select "Photo Privacy" and check the box next to "Photos are private." Now other users who even follow your feed will have to send a request to be added to the subscription. You will see information about this in your news and you can either confirm the cast or reject it.