How to use Instagram on your Apple Watch with this free app
As of now, there is no official Instagram app for the Apple Watch. However, you can receive and respond to your notifications on your connected watch. To be able to view your entire feed, watch stories and visit profiles, you'll need to download the Lens app.
Meta, the owner of Instagram, has restricted access to its social network on the Apple Watch. If you have the Instagram app installed on your iPhone, you'll still be able to access your last received message and notifications on the Apple Watch, but you are unable to access your IG news feed.
The Lens for Watch app which was not developed by Facebook, allows you to access your message history, reply all your friends, browse posts and stories from your friends or favorite influencers. Unfortunately, some of the app's features are only available for a one-time fee of $1.99.
Receive WhatsApp messages on your Apple Watch
If you bought an Apple Watch Wi-Fi + cellular for the sole purpose of sharing via Instagram, we've got bad news for you, buddy. The investment may not have been worth it at all since, in order to receive messages and notifications sent to the app on your Apple Watch, you'll need to be near your iPhone.
First, make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your iPhone and that your Apple Watch is connected to it. Instagram must obviously be installed on your iPhone and notifications enabled in the iPhone settings.
In order to do this:
- Go to the Settings menu, Notifications, and then select Instagram.
- Activate the notifications and the three different types of alerts.
- Then go to the Apple Watch application.
- Access the notifications and activate the various Instagram notifications.
You can now receive your notifications, read posts and reply to your DMs on Instagram from your iPhone on your Apple Watch.
Lens, the app to enjoy all the benefits of Instagram on your Apple Watch
If you want to benefit from all the different Instagram functions from the comfort of your Apple Watch, you'll need to use a third-party app known as Lens for Watch. This app collects data, including purchase history and log data (for diagnostics purposes), but these are not directly linked to you as the app's page on the Apple App Store indicates. Access to the Instagram feed is also free to boot.
However, to access the stories, search tab, posts, comments, and explore, you will have to pay an additional minimum fee of $1.99. Here's how to use it:
- Install the Lens for Watch app on your iPhone.
- The app will then install on your Apple Watch (which must be connected to the iPhone).
- Simply enter your Instagram credentials and you can enjoy access to your feed from your Apple Watch.
- To access stories, posts, comments, and explore, you will need to upgrade the app for an additional $1.99.
What do you think about this trick? Do you think Instagram deserves its place on Apple Watch?
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