Why download an Instagram photo instead of taking a screenshot?
A screenshot of an Instagram post includes the app's buttons, captions and your screen's own scaling, and on most phones it's a lower resolution than the photo Instagram stores. Download Instagram Photo saves the original image file instead: usually 1080 pixels wide, or up to 1440 pixels for some newer uploads, with nothing on top.
Portrait posts are 1080 × 1350 and square posts 1080 × 1080. Landscape photos are up to 1080 × 566. Instagram crops images to these shapes when they're posted, so we can't recover parts the creator cropped out.
Can I download every photo in an Instagram carousel?
Yes. Carousel posts hold up to 20 photos and videos, and when you paste a carousel link you see every item in order and can save each one. Videos in the carousel come out as MP4 and photos as JPG.
To keep a carousel together, for example a recipe, a set of slides or a comic, combine the images into one file with Image to PDF.
Why do some Instagram images look small?
Instagram keeps different sizes of each image and shows a smaller one in grids and previews. We always ask for the largest one it stores for the post. Profile pictures are a special case: Instagram keeps them small, often around 320 pixels, so they can't be saved at a larger size from anywhere.
What format are downloaded Instagram photos?
Instagram serves images as JPEG, and in some cases as WebP or HEIC depending on the device the photo was uploaded from and how Instagram processed it. JPEG works everywhere. If you get a WebP or HEIC file that an older app won't open, WebP to JPG and HEIC to JPG convert it in your browser.
For printing, a 1080-pixel image looks sharp up to about 9 × 9 cm (3.5 inches) at photo quality. Larger prints will look soft, because the detail isn't in the file.
Photographers' rights
Photos on Instagram belong to the people who took them. Saving a photo for inspiration, a mood board or reference is ordinary personal use. Using it on a website, in an ad or on a product needs the owner's permission, even if it's public. Many photographers will say yes if you ask and credit them.