But for all its virtues, Instagram is sticking to its square image limitation, and I have a feeling that’s not going to change anytime soon. For the most part I like the format. Sometimes limitations can really ooze out creativity. But sometimes images just aren’t crop-able. A group selfie with 5 of your friends turns into a group selfie with 4 of your friends on Instagram. Especially for nature scenes, Instagram square pictures can end up leaving a lot of stuff out. Just keep these apps for Android and iPhone handy, and you’ll never need to unnecessarily crop photos – ever.
1. InstaSize for Android
I like InstaSize because it follows the same design language as Instagram’s own editing screen. So you have a dark theme, picture on the top and options in the bottom that scroll horizontally. Instagram users will feel right at home. Plus, the app is chock-full of features. And I like that every option is available on this one screen.
First, select an image and the app will show a preview of how it looks, uncropped. Now you can get started editing it. My favorite thing to do is to make something of the empty space around the image. Sure, you can just have it as plain old white color, but you can do so much more. InstaSize allows you to change background (from the “Borders” option). My favorite option is the “Blur” tool. Basically, it lets you select another picture from your gallery to act as a blurred background to the image in the foreground. When done right, it looks really cool. The app also makes creating a collage really easy. Just tap the “Collage” option, add images, select layout and you’re done. Other than that, there’s options for adding filters, downloading more colorful borders and cropping the image.
2. No Crop Pic for Instagram (for Android)
No Crop Pic for Instagram works much the same way as InstaSize, but it has a very different UI. The app is laden with ads, and there’s no option to disable them. Plus, editing options in the app are segmented instead of having everything in just one screen.
That said, the app performed well in my testing, and it has a better implementation of the “Blur” tool than InstaSize. Here I can take the same image and put it in the background and blur it just by tapping a button. In InstaSize, I need to go looking for an image.
3. No Crop for iPhone
No Crop is similar to the Android app listed above. The interface is really simple. And most importantly it has the blur feature along with colored backgrounds and patterns. Now it’s your turn. What are some of your top Instagram apps? Share with us in the comments below.
