If you like Instagram, but not the Instagram app, you can always turn to third-party apps, at your own risk. Some of them fell by the wayside, such as Barinsta (closed by order of Meta), but one that is still standing is Instander. It is basically like YouTube Vanced, but for Instagram.
Instander is an unofficial Instagram app that comes in two flavors: as a modification of the official Instagram app and as a standalone app. There are always risks to using third-party apps, but in return you’ll get many of the features users have been asking for the longest on Instagram: integrated downloads, higher quality uploads, customizable gestures and a long, long etcetera.
A hypervitaminized Instagram
The Instagram app has changed a lot in recent years, and not all of the changes have been for the better. Unfortunately, users must adapt to these changes, whether they like it or not. Instander is offered as a middle ground that gives you extra options on Instagramunofficially.
The application is not developed by Facebook, so there is always a risk that your Instagram account will be penalized for using a third-party app. Its author states that “since May 2020, there has not been a single case of password theft related to Instander”, although having not published its source code, it is a matter of faith to believe it or not. Just like it was on YouTube Vanced.
In exchange for this risk, you get lots of extra features with which Instagram users have been dreaming for years. For example, downloading photos and videos from Instagram is as easy as clicking a button under each post, no more.
The advantages of Instander go further and include both new things that arrive and things that are in the Instagram app that disappear, such as ads. You also have more control over the posts that are shown to you, being able to turn off video playback, friend suggestions and other blocks that sometimes get in the way of your view of the social network.
In the privacy section, Instander includes a complete menu called ghost mode, with which you can carry out a series of actions without leaving a trace. These include reading unread messages, turning off the “you’re typing” notification, watching stories without being known, and even watching live videos without appearing in the audience.
With Instander you can watch stories in ninja mode
Instander’s additional options go beyond the basics, including a comprehensive menu with which you can configure different gestures to use on Instagram: both add new ones and remove those already in the application, such as double tap to like a photo.
Quite interesting is the possibility of improve the quality of Instagram uploads, a disease that has afflicted Instagram for Android since its inception. The app allows you to increase the quality when uploading stories, Reels, IGTV and photos.
In short, Instander adds to Instagram many of the features most requested by users, in exchange for the always inherent of using an application that has been modified. The good thing about Android is that in the end the decision is up to the user: you choose if you want to try it or not. If you decide to install it, you will find it on its official website.
