As of now, there is no official Instagram app for Apple Watch. However, you can receive and reply to notifications on the connected watch. To be able to view all your feeds, watch stories, and access profiles, you’ll need to download the Lens app.
To summarize:
Meta, the owner of Instagram, has restricted access to its social network from the Apple Watch. If you have the Instagram app on your iPhone, you can still access your last message and notifications on your Apple Watch, but not your IG newsfeed.
The Lens app was not developed by Facebook, it allows you to access your message history, reply to all your friends, view posts and stories from your friends or your favorite influencers. Unfortunately, some features of the app are available for as little as 1.99 euros.
Receive WhatsApp messages on Apple Watch using WhatsApp
If you bought an Apple Watch Wifi + Cellular for the sole purpose of communicating via Instagram, you’re going to be very sad. The investment may not be worth it, because to receive messages and notifications sent to apps on the Apple Watch, you must be near your iPhone.
Make sure your iPhone has Bluetooth enabled and your Apple Watch is connected to it. Instagram obviously needs to be installed on your iPhone and notifications enabled in iPhone settings.
do this:
- go to menu set up, Notice Then Instagram
- Enable notifications and three different types of alerts
Enable Instagram notifications on iPhone / © Nextpit
- Then go to the Apple Watch app
- Go to notifications and activate notifications for Instagram
Activate Instagram notifications on Apple Watch for interaction / © Nextpit
You can now receive notifications, read messages, and reply to your DMs on Instagram from your iPhone on your Apple Watch.
Lens, the app that lets you enjoy all the benefits of Instagram on your Apple Watch
If you want to benefit from all the Instagram tools on your Apple Watch, you’ll need to use a third-party app called Lens. This app collects data, including purchase history and log data (for diagnostics), but this is not directly linked to you, as described on the App.Apple Store app page. Access to Instagram feeds is free.
However, to access stories, search tabs, messages, comments and explorations, you have to pay at least €1.99 extra.
Here’s how to use it:
- Install the Lens app on your iPhone
- The app is automatically installed on your Apple Watch (must be connected to an iPhone)
- Just enter your Instagram credentials and you can access your feed from your Apple Watch
- To access stories, messages, reviews and explore, you need to upgrade the app for 1.99 euros.
The Lens app mimics Instagram’s previous app on the Apple Watch / © Nextpit.fr
What do you think of this technique? Do you think Instagram belongs to the Apple Watch?