Why Is Instagram Showing Bad Camera Quality on Android?

Instagram gets over a billion monthly active users, but it’s not the most optimized social media application, specifically when we talk about using it on Android phones. Most of us use the camera function provided by the social media app for our convenience for taking photos and videos. It works smoothly, but the photos and videos taken by Instagram‘s in-app camera function are not so appealing to the eyes. The same app works just fine on iPhones. In this article, we’ll be looking at possible reasons behind Instagram’s bad camera quality on Android phones. Later in this article, you’ll also find tips to improve the quality of photos and videos taken by Instagram.

The Reasons Behind Instagram’s Bad Camera Quality on Android

Open the camera function inside the Instagram app and take a picture. Now, open the default camera app and take the same shot. Look at both the images; you’ll find a noticeable difference in the image quality. When you press the shutter button while taking a photo on Instagram, the app takes a screenshot of the screen. On the other hand, taking pictures using the default camera app makes use of the hardware available on your phone to get short. This is way better than Instagram’s method of taking photos.

Another thing you should know is that the Instagram app can’t use additional sensors, such as ultra-wide, macro, or telephoto. These additional lenses give an additional boost to photography, but Instagram can’t take advantage of it. The app mainly relies on the primary camera. You can’t even use HDR.

Now, the question that may pop up in my mind is why the photos and videos taken by Instagram are good than any other Android phone. The reason is software optimizations. The Android smartphone world has dozens of brands and thousands of phones. However, the number of iPhone models is very few as compared to Android. Hence, optimizing Instagram for Apple iPhones is much easier than for Android users.

What Are Companies Doing to Fix It?

The default camera app can take full advantage of the camera sensors and features, but not the third-party apps due to limitations put by Google. But, things are changing with Android 13. Google offered Camera API to app developers that can be implemented in third-party apps to gain camera access. Due to limited features, Google introduced a better version of Camera2. It was better than before but still missed out on features, including HDR.

Then comes the Camera X API (based on Camera2) with support for features like HDR processing, portrait mode, night mode, and more. Again there is a limitation. The device must support CameraX API with the relevant Android version. At Google I/O 2022, Google had something interesting for third-party app developers. The tech giant announced video capture in the CameraX Jetpack library. All third-party apps with support for CameraX can use all the rear cameras. Previously, third-party apps could only use the primary sensor, but now they can use ultrawide, telephoto, and macro sensors too.

The Instagram app on Android 13 phones can change the in-app camera experience as the latest version of Android supports HDR video in camera apps. But, it’s all up to the Android smartphone companies and social media app developers to implement CameraX API.

Some Tips to Improve Instagram Camera Quality on Android

Rather than waiting for the smartphone manufacturer or the app developer to improve the camera quality, there are some nifty ways to do it. Apply the tricks and let us know how much the photo’s quality has been improved.

Solution 1: Turn off Data Saver in Instagram

When Dava Saver is turned on, the Instagram app will use less data. It will stop loading videos in advance. Disabling Data Saver in Instagram can help you improve the photos and videos quality taken on the social media app.

To disable the Data Saver mode on Instagram, follow these steps:

1. Open the Instagram app on your phone.
2. Tap on the profile image in the bottom-right on the screen.
3. Click the three lines button in the upper-right corner and select Settings.
4. Tap on the Account option.
5. Select Cellular data use.
6. Now, turn off Data Saver.

Solution 2: Change High-Resolution Media Settings

To further the internet data, you can change the High-resolution media that will impact the quality of photos and videos you see in the Instagram app. I recommend setting the High-resolution media option to Cellular + WiFi so you can enjoy high-resolution content on mobile data and a WiFi connection.

Here’s how to change the High-resolution media setting on Instagram:

1. Open the Instagram app on your phone.
2. Tap on the profile image in the bottom-right of the screen.
3. Click the three lines button in the upper-right corner and select Settings.
4. Tap on the Account option, and select Cellular data use.
5. Turn on Data Saver.
6. Tap on High-resolution media and select Cellular + WiFi.
7. Close the Instagram app.
8. Relaunch the app and check if the problem is fixed.

Solution 3: Use the Default Camera App

If you are not getting a good quality image or video when using Instagram’s in-app camera feature, a better approach is to capture the image/video using the default camera app and share it on Instagram. This way, the images or videos won’t lose out on quality.

Conclusion

In this article, we briefly examined why you might be getting bad-quality images or videos on Instagram. However, there are some tricks you can use to improve the quality, which we discussed just above. Do you use Instagram for fun or professional purpose? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.