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Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

manualdousuario.net

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Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#11

Post by ISL »

blakesterz wrote: post #3

I don't have an instagram account and just Googled "most popular instagram accounts" and I was able to look at the top 3. Though I did scroll down far enough to hit a "you need to login to view more" wall. Maybe it's a regional thing? I'm in the US here. And it's Katy Perry, Nike and Miley Cyrus, just in case you were curious. (at least according to the first result from Google)

Just tried with my own Instagram in incognito in desktop. I could scroll the grid for a few wheel-scrolls before being asked to log in. Clicking any image yielded a log-in prompt.

This isn't how the open web is supposed to work. (nor is IG's suppression of hyperlinks to a single link within the bio.)

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#12

Post by ghostpepper »

I think it's actually just some javascript that prevents clicking links from a profile to the individual photos.

Deep-linking still works without an account, so you can just right click a photo, copy the url and paste it into the URL bar.

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#13

Post by rpgbr »

dec0rum wrote: post #2

I thought this had already been happening for quite some time? In my experience, I was no longer able to browse without an account on either my laptop or my mobile device for a few months now

Author here. Previously, it only happened when I was using a VPN, even if its server was in Brazil, where I live.

I also checked with friends and relatives living in another cities in Brazil. They also hit that form when trying to access photos unlogged.

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#14

Post by basch »

dec0rum wrote: post #2

I thought this had already been happening for quite some time? In my experience, I was no longer able to browse without an account on either my laptop or my mobile device for a few months now

Correct. This is not a new behavior. Also, did the author check for any kind of cookie or fingerprinting? I would guess Instagram is much more likely to allow some sample viewing, and by clearing all stored data, you can get another quantity of samples. I would have tried that first before the user agent.

A more accurate title would probably be (this is conjecture) "Instagram expands loginwall to other countries, eg Brazil"

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#15

Post by fao_ »

Some friends roped me into signing up to Instagram, so I did. I got to the sign in process and "an error occurred". I tried to login and it said "account does not exist", but I tried to re-sign up, and it said "This account already exists". I emailed them for help but they said I had to post a photo of myself holding a pad with my username on it.

Which, fair enough, but giving away my face to a faceless corporation isn't my jam. If this is how they treat their prospective customers (or rather their income -- people they make money selling data from) I'm not really interested in signing up.

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#16

Post by 12xo »

I hate these walled apps. Having to log in is maddening. Especially Facebook, especially right now...

As a photographer, I have to have some sort of IG presence but I absolutely hate the app, the UX and the whole enchilada. Its the worst viewing experience possible for good photos and yet is the medium of choice for so many... I miss the old web.

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#17

Post by rpgbr »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #8

Interesting. Would it work if you pretend you are using cell phone?

Yep. There's a video in the post showing that. If you change the browser's user agent to any browser in iPhone or Android, photos and videos open normally.

Re: Instagram no longer allows people without an account to view photos on computers

#19

Post by danielmichaelni »

sharkmerry wrote: post #4

I just noticed this a few days ago when checking a friend's dog feed. If you open in private window it still seems to allow. (browse normal to instagram, right-click, open in new private window tab)

Opening in a normal new tab should work as well. I think it's because clicking a photo normally uses client-side navigation (navigates with JS), while opening in a new tab will fetch the entire new page.
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