Post rectangles on Instagram with Squaready or InstaSize
If you want to post an entire rectangular shot to square-obsessed Instagram, I've got not one but two free apps that will do such a thing.
NoCrop, no more. After writing about the iPhone app NoCrop last week that let you post rectangular photos on Instagram, I have uninstalled it in favor of Squaready and InstaSize. Like NoCrop, these two apps are free and let you post an entire rectangular photo to Instagram. Unlike NoCrop, these two apps don't repeatedly hit you over the head with obtrusive ads. Instead, Squaready and InstaSize satisfy themselves with simple banner ads at the bottom of the screen.
First up: Squaready. The app lays out a simple, three-step process, but first I would recommend muting the app's strange and loud sound effects by tapping the speaker button at the top of the screen. After silencing the app, tap the folder button to load a photo. (You can't snap a shot with the app; the camera icon button takes you to a Squaready Instagram feed.)
After loading a photo, zoom and drag the photo on the workspace to reposition it. Tap the running-man icon to toggle between coarse and fine adjustment settings. (Coarse lets you zoom and drag more quickly, while the fine setting slows things down so you can make, well, finer corrections.) The seven edit buttons below the photo let you adjust the color of the background, center and position the image, and rotate and flip the image.
When you have your image the way you want it, tap the share button in the upper-right corner. From here, you can save the photo to your Camera Roll or open the photo in Instagram (in one of three resolutions) or other apps that can open images. From your iPhone's main settings Squaready lets you turn off the option that prefills your Instagram caption with #squaready.
Next up: InstaSize. The app lets you load or snap a photo -- or two. After choosing your first photo, you can then tap the button in the lower-left corner to choose a two-picture, side-by-side layout. Tap the button again to position two photos with one on top of the other. Finally, tap the button a third time to return to the original, single-photo layout. There are no other editing tools at your disposal with InstaSize, save the toggle switch in the lower-right corner that lets you select a white or black background.
When your composition is just right, tap the InstaSize button, watch a quick ad, and then open the image in Instagram or another app that supports such things. Lastly, tap the settings button on the app's home screen to delete the #InstaSize hash tag that autofills your Instagram caption.