Instagram Woes

Coreyartus

So recently, I've been having a bit of a challenge dealing with my Instagram feed. I've been randomly "Action Blocked" intermittently. Sometimes I could 'Like' things, sometimes I couldn't. Rarely could I ever make comments. The last time I posted something, my own description wasn't even posted, so it seemed like a random image thrown up there without context...

I've been stymied trying to figure out what was wrong. About 2 months ago I deeply purged the list of people I was following, and have since learned I purged way way WAY too many at the same time (The safe limit is around 30 or 60 per day, I think? I did 500+ in one sitting... hehe... <gulp>). So I think the first time Instagram thought I was a spam account and blocked me hard. Nothing makes ya feel old faster than not knowing how you've screwed up technology... <sigh> ("Ethel? Ethel! How do you turn on that tarnationed magic box thingy?")

But time passed and things got back to normal. Then it started happening again, and I was surprised. I wasn't doing anything wrong, I thought. I wasn't Following too many per day, I wasn't repeating comments over and over again, I wasn't tagging people irrelevantly.

I dug in and did some research and realized I was using too many hashtags, apparently. At least that's what I have to assume. Instagram tells you NOTHING about what you're doing wrong... Which is BEYOND frustrating... ("Grrr...argh...Get off my lawn...")

So now I've learned that Instagram looks at the IP you're using to sign in, and if you aren't using the same IP address Instagram will determine that the account has become insecure, and will immediately block it.

So. Given that one can't upload to Instagram using a Desktop very easily (I've heard there's a workaround on Google Chrome), I assume most of you do your posting from a mobile device, correct? Or with a 3rd-party app that enables you to post from your Desktop?

If you aren't using an Instagram-integrated app, that means there's a pretty good likelihood you transfer your scanned images or finished Photoshop files from your desktop to your mobile device, either through Appleshare or Dropbox or whatever you use.

Would any of you mind terribly sharing your Instagram-integrated App that you use and trust? Because honestly I'm kinda tired of being Action Blocked for what I think is using my Desktop and my mobile iPad at the same time. I'd really love it if I could just use my Desktop for everything.

And maybe this won't solve my problems ("Ethel! The durned thing is talkin' sass at me! Ethel!"). But it's worth a try.

APHOTICMOTH

@Coreyartus I use User Agent Switcher on firefox, but you can't post multiple images at once that you can flip through, and you can't post video. So you can only do individual posts, and direct messages. I email images to myself and post on a phone if I want to post multiple things at once.

Good luck!

NessIllustration

@Coreyartus I use Later.com and love it. It let's me do Instagram and Facebook on the same app and save hashtag buckets. It's a lifesaver!

MichaelaH

I use google chrome, shift+ctrg+J for seeing the mobile view and F5 so I can post. But also can't post multiple Images. Or I did use tailwind for posting, there were about over 30 images free.
But I usually connect my phone with pc and copy the image to my phone.

burvantill

I email or message an image from my Mac to either my phone or iPad. I use all three to communicate in IG though, and have never had any issues. (Knock on wood). Is the trouble just on your desktop through the browser or in the app on your mobile device... or both?

Coreyartus

@burvantill What magic spell do you cast to make it work?!? The problem is on both. I would share my image on Appleshare from Procreate in my iPad, then muck about in Photoshop to decrease the file size so I could share it on Social Media, then use Appleshare to send it back to my iPad where I'd post it using my Instagram app.

I used to be able to sign into Instagram in Firefox or Chrome and remain signed on with my iPad as well. But I've discovered that I have to sign out and then sign back in on Firefox in order to 'Like' anything or comment using my Desktop (I wonder if that has anything to do with Cookies?). And my iPad app starts "Blocking" me, too--sometimes signing out works and sometimes it doesn't.

I'm inclined to think it's being signed in on multiple devices because I can't find a reference to the IP-issue actually being a problem until 2019. I'm at my wits end. I love sharing on Instagram but obviously I'm doing something wrong. <sigh>

@CLCanadyArts @MichaelaH @NessIllustration Thanks SO MUCH for sharing those apps!! I'm going to look into them. I think I need to let my Instagram rest for a day or so, and maybe log into in only in one place at a time to see if it'll work. <Ghaaa!!>

jakecrowe

@Coreyartus do you only use photoshop to adjust the file size? I’ve worked on pretty large files and have never had trouble saving as a .jpeg from procreate to my camera roll and posting from there.

drawnbyshawn

@NessIllustration I’ll have to take a look at Later. That looks like it could be handy.

DOTTYP

Instagram is difficult I admit I dont know how to use it I can not even figure out how to upload a video to My stories .I noticed that if I upload a photo from my PC (windows) the hashtags don't work. I also found out you are only meant to use 5 hashtags and keep using different ones,or they will shadowban you. You should get rid of ghostfollowers that is people who follow you but never like or comment,this lowers your engagement apparently. Also Instagram does not like you using apps and will ban for this. I have tried all these tips it never seems to make much difference so I will have just to realize my page is just not any good. I hope these tips work for you!

burvantill

@Coreyartus i was going to ask the same as @jakecrowe . If you save as a jpg in procreate can you upload directly to IG? Yes, sometimes, or no?

I don’t use any transfer software. Just email, text or iMessage. I have also just done a quick screenshot on my iPad and after cropping it in either the photos app or Snapseed (LOVE Snapseed) I will upload it to IG. I have also done this on my Mac. Screenshot, crop it then iMessage it to my phone so I can load it on IG.
I tried Hootsuite for a couple weeks for uploading on a schedule but it never worked. I wonder if it’s the other apps that are messing you up?
Have you tried deleting your IG app on your devices and reloading?
Or logging out of all devices then logging back in one by one? Deleting cookies and erasing history in your browser? I use Chrome too btw.
Software troubleshooting is SO much fun.

NessIllustration

@Coreyartus I have to say though, I do sometimes post from my phone as well as from my desktop with Later. I also use a ton more 3rd party services for various different things. A repost app to share projects from my community, widgets for my website that displays my latest posts, for a while I even tested this app that sends automated welcome DMs to new followers. Never had one problem, never experienced any kind of ban or limitation put on my activities. I don't know WHAT kind of bad luck you're having with Instagram, it definitely hasn't been my experience. Maybe delete the app and re-install the newest version? Also for hashtags, the limit is 30 per post and from what I've seen if you go over that it will simply get you an error message when you try to post and they'll ask you to remove some before you can post. Never heard of someone being able to post with too many hashtags then later get punished for it. It's a head scratcher!

Coreyartus

@burvantill @jakecrowe I had indeed been saving a jpg directly from Procreate and posting to Instagram all on my iPad. It was wonderful!! And simple!

And then I realized that the 300dpi files I was posting were being reformatted automatically by Instagram to fit their 72dpi sharing format. And it took a couple posts before I realized some of the line work I had drawn was simply evaporating. The crispness in the detail seemed to disappear.

I couldn't find an iPad app that would reduce the dpi of the images with the control that Photoshop has. I started saving the images to my Desktop through Appleshare, then adjusting the images for websharing in Photoshop. It enabled me to reduce the dpi to 72 and use Photoshop's algorithms to keep a sharper quality image. I was also able to use a smidge of Smart Sharpening on some of them as well. So when I sent them back to my iPad to share on Instagram, they seemed to have more clarity and definition than if I had just trusted Instagram to re-interpolate them.

Am I mucking up things and missing something inadvertently? I have a tendency to over complicate things.... hehe...

@NessIllustration I am 99% sure I'm simply not using Instagram correctly. The tech is smarter than I am. You're right about the 30 limit. I think I was using the same hashtags over and over again. I've read that if you do that and they're the hashtags with bigger usages, it dings their Spam algorithm. So I'm trying to reduce the number of hashtags I use and make sure I don't use too many of the ones that have over a couple million usages. Ironically, I've read "less is more", especially if you're trying to focus those hashtags toward specific viewers.

I took your advice and deleted the app on my iPad and re-installed it. We'll see how that works now.

NessIllustration

@Coreyartus You're right, smaller hashtags work better! Not only you have a better chance of showing your illustration the the right person who is interested, but the bigger hashtags (a few million posts) are used so often that you get buried in seconds. It's like screaming into a crowd of millions: exhausting and rarely efficient! Speaking to a smaller room is easier and you actually have more chance to be heard

burvantill

Hmmm. Weird. Hopefully deleting the apps and reloading will fix the issue. Good luck.

Amanda Jean

@MichaelaH that is the most goshdarn useful Instagram tip I have seen in ages. Thank you!

burvantill

@MichaelaH I tried on my mac and was almost disappointed. For those on a Mac, Command+Option+J will take you to the source page where you can click on a mobile view. SO AWESOME!!!! Thank you Michaela!!!
EDIT: LOL I spoke too soon. I can see what is supposed to be a mobile view but there are no buttons to post images. Bummer.

StudioLooong

@burvantill I was not originally getting the post button, looks like you may need to command +R to refresh the page and the post option will load

burvantill

@StudioLooong SWEET!! Thank you. That worked.

JerrySketchyArt

@burvantill Just beware that the hashtags might not work in the browser. I usually add the tags from my phone in a comment. For some reason they don't seem to work right when not on mobile.

MichaelaH

@StudioLooong Yeah on windows You need F5 ro refresh the site and than you see this plus for making a new post
@burvantill I am glad it works for You, as Jerry said, the hashtags arn't alaways working, but You can add them later. Yeah refresh is F5 on Windows...