How to save high-resolution versions of your Instagram photos

Once you've posted a photo using Instagram, the incredibly popular social photo network, it's locked into its tiny filtered form. Instagram doesn't even let you download it after the fact — you need to screenshot it or resort to a third-part ripper, even for your own photos. What Instagram does let you do, however, is set it to save a high resolution "2048x2048" version of your final, filtered photo to your camera roll as you post it. (I put the resolution in quotes because it really seems to vary, sometimes a bit lower, sometimes higher.) To save those original photos, all you have to do is enable the feature.

How to turn on Instagram's save-to-Camera Roll setting

  1. Launch Instagram from your Home screen.
  2. Tap on the Me tab at the bottom left.
  3. Tap on the Settings icon at the top right.
  4. Scroll down and toggle Save Original Photos to on.

Once that's enabled, Instagram will save a high-resolution copy of all your finished, filtered photos to your Camera Roll.

How to easily find your original, high-res Instagram photos

  1. Launch Photos from your Home screen
  2. Tap on the Albums tab at the bottom middle.
  3. Scroll down and tap on the Instagram album.

All the same photos can be found in your Camera roll, but the album collects them in one, easier to browse place.

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.