- no access to dms outside of being logged in. there is not even an option to have DMs emailed to you, as is possible with twitter. this would help one stay off the app, but stay informed of important messages - but no, if you wish to know what is happening in your DMs, you need to enter the app and risk being sucked into a consuming spiral.
- no way to post outside of a smart device app, and no scheduling. same problem as before - you need to download the app and be logged in. as of recently, instagram can have scheduled posts and uploaded posts via desktop, using facebook business suite - but it is very poor, seems not to support multiple images being anything other than a square post, and there's still no way to shut off seeing notifications. the only thing not on this suite is the feed. you can also post (on google chrome at least) by manipulating the developer tools - but there is no support for multiple images or editing. you also can post very basic stories, and there is no way to share posts onto stories either. you need the app.
- no real long-term searchability. searches do not include the description of a post, it only searches by exact hashtags, most of which are extremely oversaturated and serve as another quick paced timeline. outside of the app, there seems to be no searchability on search engines either, except for individual profiles. your post cannot be found easily. it seems you cannot use instagram's search function either without being logged in.
- poor quality uploads. images uploaded to instagram seem to go through the same shit filter that facebook employs, turning any image into a jpeg clusterfuck. if you have lots of details, colours such as red, or pixel lines, the visual quality of this will be destroyed. while this happens on most sites, you can easily right click and open in a new tab to see the original file, or simply open and save the image to your device. you right click an image on desktop, nor can you save it to your device, you may only screenshot. the only way i've found to retrieve some kind of high quality version of the file is through the source code, but who has the time or frankly the knowledge for that? (which by the way, HERE IS HOW (on google chrome anyway). open up an instagram post, right click on an empty part of the page and click "view source code". ctrl+f and input "og:image", and copy and paste the long URL on that same line. they come up at a standardised size, but it's far better than a shitty screenshot).
- unless you are logged in, instagram is extremely limited. you cannot view stories, highlights, or even scroll so far down a person's profile without being stopped and prompted to log into your account highly curated to addict you. when on a user's profile, you cannot (without right clicking into a new tab which again, a lot of people don't even realise you can do this) even view people's posts on their profile unless you have the specific link.
- no way to opt out of, or neutralize, your explore feed. when explore was first introduced, it was actually rather easy to neutralise what appears in your explore but selecting "not interested" on a few posts. but now this is near impossible, and if it was, it probably would take hours, and i guess it now bases the explore on who you follow, what you like, and what you save. if you're done with your feed, explore is there to coax you into another round of scrolling. and the more you use it, the more it can figure out what to show you to keep you hooked.
- the timeline is not chronological. seriously? there's not even an option to make this possible. even facebook itself allows you to switch to a chronological timeline. even instagram's own search feature offers a chronological option. why? the same reason for all of this, of course. to keep you on the app, by learning whose posts you like to see the most and throwing these at you when you open the app to immediately engage you.
- no access to RSS feeds. cmon. what kind of dog shit. once again, if you'd like to know when someone has posted, you must have an app and have notifications turned on.
god i fucking hate instagram. save yourself, and delete that shit