But Instagram doesn’t provide that functionality, which is one of the reasons I’m not a huge Instagram user. I think it has something to do with image copyright and credit, and I understand the issues involved, but this is one of those areas that they need to figure out because people will just take screenshots of images anyway if they want them badly enough. And while they’re trying to stop the bad actors, they’re making the service less useful to people who don’t want to abuse it.
So I was happy when I discovered the Repost for Instagram app from Red Cactus. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices and the Android version can be sideloaded onto Amazon Fire tablets. What this app does is add a watermark to the image crediting the account you’re reposting it from and then copies the image description to your clipboard so you can paste it back into the description when you repost it on Instagram. It’s not the most elegant solution but overall it works well and I like the fact that I can now repost images while ensuring the original Instagrammer gets credited for it.
However, there was one thing I didn’t really love about the app. The image feed in the Repost app was only available in grid form instead of a single-image stream and on smaller devices it makes it hard to really see whether it’s an image you want to share or not. Because of that, I usually stuck with Instagram for scrolling through the image feed and when I found one I really liked, I would open the Repost app and then have to scroll through it to find the same pic. An even less elegant solution.
A few days ago, Instagram changed their API so that third-party apps could no longer display an image feed in them. (Actually, I think they changed it a while back, but they turned off access to the last of the apps a few days ago.)
I learned this on via @MacRumors on Twitter:
I immediately went to my Repost app and sure enough, there was a note that there was an error trying to reload the feed. This was my tweet in response:
But for some reason, I decided to check out Repost again today and I discovered that the message had changed to show a new process for reposting Instagram images. Huzzah!
While it does add a couple of steps, I find they’re actually less disruptive to the way you’d naturally want to do things now.
Scroll through Instagram until you find an image you want to share with your followers.
Click the three dots icon and select Copy Share URL.
Open the Repost app and click the image you want to repost.
At first I thought this was an unnecessary step because there was only the one image displayed, but I later discovered that previous images you’ve sent to Repost will be kept in the list, so you do need it to pick the actual one you want to share.
Select your watermark options and click the Repost button.
This is the point where the original description gets copied to your clipboard.
Add filters in Instagram if desired.
Press on the description field to bring up the Paste option. Tap it to paste the description from the original Instagram post. Add your own comments before or after the copied text.
Post the image.
That’s it! Here’s the final posted image on the T4L page:
The reason I like this new workflow is that I start it in Instagram and I end it in Instagram and I don’t have to try to match up the two apps. The only thing now that I’m not crazy about now is after you do this and return to your Instagram home feed, it takes you back to the top of the stream, when I’d rather go back to the image I just reposted and continue scrolling from there. If anyone from Red Cactus or Instagram is reading this, please consider this an enhancement request!
Today’s Blogathon 2016 tip comes from reader Malcolm and not only is it a great tip in and of itself, but it also introduced me to a Microsoft Word feature I never even knew existed!
Apparently Word includes a “Recover text from any file (*.*)” option from the Files of Type in its Open dialog as a way to recover text from corrupted Word files or non-Word file. However, when you choose the option, the dialog keeps that File of Type option so if you end up opening a normal Word doc while it’s selected, you’ll lose all your formatting, images, etc. It’s at this point that Malcolm says his reaction is “to consume the chocolate bar kept next to the keyboard for such times of crisis,” a perfectly valid tip in and of itself! 🙂 Instead, his tip is:
Once finished recovering files but before you quit Word, re-set the Files of Type to your norm and open a random file. Can save lots of tears.
This tip also proves my contention that there’s always more you can learn about something, even if you’re already pretty knowledgeable about it. I mean, I consider myself a power user of Word and to repeat: I had NO idea this recovery feature exists.
Learn more about the Recover Text From Any File feature on the Microsoft Support site. >>
Thanks again so much for sharing this awesome tip, Malcolm. (If you’re keeping track, that’s now his third entry into the tech tip contest!)
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View Comments
Help! I'm trying to repost for the first time and installed Repost app. In following these instructions I get confused. I made it through to the watermark part. What is it and why do I need it? I just clicked the blue Repost button.
The next instruction is of no use. "This is the point where....". What do I do here? If I press the blue "open Instagram" it opens the app, but your next instructions says to add a filter. Not understanding, I'm new to this.
The watermark adds the name of the account that originally posted the image you're reposting to one of the corners of the image. When you click "Repost", it copies the text that the original poster included as a description for the image to your clipboard, which is an area of memory behind the scenes of your computer that stores content for you to paste elsewhere.
So now when you open Instagram, the image you're reposting will have a watermark on the image itself that shows which account you reposted it from. And if you press on the Description field, an option will pop up that lets you paste the description you copied from the original image into your description. Then you can add your own comments to the image as well.
For example, if you look at this post on the T4L Instagram feed:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPn6CLqjf1o/?taken-by=techforluddites
The watermark is the black rectangle at the top right-hand corner of the image that says "Canadian Space Agency." That was added to the image by the Repost app. Then, in the description, you'll see a bit at the start that tells about my experience working at the agency then you'll see a line that says "#Repost @canadianspaceagency with @repostapp" followed by the text that was in the description of the agency's original post. That's what was copied to the clipboard when I clicked Repost and then pasted into my own post.
I hope that helps clarify things for you.
- Elizabeth
How do you use repost when trying on an account (that is a friend but set to private) and the copy share url doesn't appear? I can find the url if I open the instagram user on a desktop browser, but how do I get that url into the repost app to use on my instagram account?
Hi Karl.
It won't work for a private account, which makes sense since by having a private account, the person is stating they don't want their photos available to the public.
- Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your prompt reply. Maybe I'm mistaken about the account being private then because they are a very well known band and are happy to share their photos with millions of followers and fans. So I don't think it's because they don't want others seeing their photos. I think it's something wrong with my app or the setup on my phone or something. Is there anything else you can suggest?
If it's working with other people's accounts, then I can't think of any other reason it wouldn't work for that one.
If it's not working with other people's accounts, make sure you have the most up-to-date version of both apps. You may also want to uninstall and reinstall the Repost app.
Text from original post gets dropped when I repost. Tried multiple repost apps on iPhone and android. Multiple devices also. Thanks.
Hi Doug.
I'm not sure what's happening there. I just retried the app and it worked fine. Just to be clear, when you click Repost it copies the original caption to your clipboard and when you go to Instagram, you have to press the text field and then click Paste to insert the text.
If you're doing that, then the only thing I can think of is somehow your clipboard is being emptied out when you switch from Repost to Instagram. But I don't know what could cause that.
- Elizabeth
Maybe I became stupid overnite one day last week but my Regrann just stopped wkg after no problems for a couple of yrs?!
After hitting the dots it acts as tho it's about to work fine and then the screen fades do you can't tap anything and what lites up says,"this probably can't be copy b/c it's been deleted." Now, I know not every single pic or video or ANYTHING I need to post or share has been deleted! When I was using this frequently w/no problems the above semi-quote NEVER once appeared. Can you help me or can someone help Mr, Pleeeeese???
Tnx, 4any help!
I don't know if you've found a solution to this yet, but it's still working fine for me. You don't say if you're using an iOS or Android version, but I would go into your phone's settings, select the app, and Force Stop and Clear Cache (NOT Clear Data). If that doesn't work, you may need to uninstall and reinstall the app.
If that still doesn't work, you should contact the app developers to see if they can help you.
- Elizabeth
When I click the three dots I do not see the option "Copy Share URL". I only see "Turn on Post Notifications" and "Report."
Hi Elissa.
It sounds like the image you want to share is from someone whose account is private, so sharing options aren't available. Can you try with someone else's images?
- Elizabeth
Thanks, Elizabeth. I'll definitely give that a try.
Stay tuned! :)
Thanks, Elizabeth. I've tried deleting the app and reinstalling it. I've also been in touch with others who have the same iPhone 6 without the upgrades like me and they say they're able to use it. The message that comes up when I try to log into Instagram through the App is that I'm 'not an authorized sandbox user'.
Maybe yours works because you have an older iPhone generation.
Am I losing my mind here? lol
I did some searching around for that error message and it seems like it came up for a lot of apps that use the Instagram API when Instagram made their big change. In every instance, the solution seemed to be to uninstall and reinstall the app. I know you've already tried that, but maybe you could try uninstalling both Instagram and Repost and then shutting down your phone and restarting it to try to clear out any data that may be stuck in memory. Then reinstall the two apps. I don't know if that will work or not, but it's what I would try at this point.
Hi Elizabeth....just an update.
I've tried all of that and I'm still getting that same error message. I also spoke to someone with the 9.3 IOS version on their iPhone6 and they say they're getting the same message as I am.
This is really baffling because technically Repost shouldn't work on any version of iPhone as IG has changed their platform. So if it does on your 4s, that's even stranger!
Thoughts?
I'm confused. Instagram has changed the API on their app so RepostApp no longer works. When I select the image I want to repost, save it to the clipboard and then go to Instagram, I can't even log in to Instagram!!
This has apparently been effective since 1 June 2016. So why are some users still able to implement this app at this moment and I can't? I'm have an iPhone 6 with IOS 8.4.
So frustrated here. :////
Hi Pen.
I'm not sure why it's not working for you, but the current version of iOS is 9.3, so maybe you need to upgrade to support the new functionality. Also make sure your Repost app is up-to-date. I just tried it on my iPhone 4S and it's working fine for me.
- Elizabeth
Also.....I've completely run out of room on my 6 as it's only 16 gb, so I can't do the upgrade until October when my contract is up. This also means that I don't have enough room to install the latest update. :) This may be the problem but I won't know that until October when I get the 64gb version!