There are many iPhone applications that can be used on iPad, although the truth is that not all of them are 100% adapted and in fact they do not always appear in the App Store. Instagram is one of the most striking cases, since the popular app now developed by Facebook does not have a “natural” presence on Apple tablets. However, there is a way to get hold of it, although with certain limitations that we are also going to tell you about in this article.
It can be downloaded from the App Store itself
On Android, there is the possibility of installing applications with the extension “apk” from the internet and often of doubtful trust and legality. It is not the case of Apple, who does not allow this type of installation and therefore we cannot find Instagram in that format, although we can find it within the App Store, so with this we close the question about its legal download. If an app comes from Apple’s own official store, it is already a guarantee that a legal procedure is being followed.
Now, if you go to the normal search engine of the App Store on iPadOS you will see that the official Instagram application does not appear. What is the catch then? Well, it is very simple because if you look at the left side of the search engine, there is a section that says ” Filters “. If you click here you will find various options, although the important one in this case is “Compatibility”, since you must click on it and choose the ” iPhone Only ” option. Once this is done you will be able to access the search for apps that are not available on iPad and if they are on iPhone, now accessing the possibility of downloading Instagram.
Has visual (and physical) limitations
As you have already seen, the download and installation procedure does not require any strange process other than activating the aforementioned compatibility filter. But when you open the app you will get a surprise that is probably not entirely pleasant and that is that it does not occupy the entire screen of the iPad and that is because it is not a version designed for tablets. In addition, it can only be used with the iPad vertically , since if it is used horizontally you will have to turn your neck too much to see the content well.
The tedious black frames that appear on the screen can be reduced or enlarged by clicking on the button enabled for it in the lower right corner of the iPad, although in no case are they completely eliminated. At the end of the day it will be like using the iPhone app, but in a larger size. Therefore we can conclude that the use of this app on iPadOS is not the most convenient, since Facebook would need to develop an interface optimized for the image format and characteristics of Apple tablets.
To these drawbacks must be added the fact that if you use Instagram to make Stories and others, it is not the most comfortable to use a device as large as an iPad (even if it is the iPad mini). In any case, it can be an interesting alternative when for any reason you cannot access your iPhone and yet you want to be aware of your social network.
