How-To

How to Use Instagram’s Hidden High-Quality Video Settings

By Brian Burgess

Published December 15, 2023

If you take a video with a powerful camera on your phone, it may appear blurry. So, use Instagram’s hidden high quality video settings.

Are your Instagram videos too blurry when you post them? Luckily, you can use Instagram’s hidden high-quality video settings to prevent blurry photos and Reels on the platform.

Enabling the high-quality settings is helpful when you don’t want your posts to be blurry or out-of-focus. For example, social sites like TikTok, Threads, and Instagram lower video quality to use less server space. The default option for videos and photos also speeds up Instagram’s experience when uploading media.

While uploading a video or photo at the highest quality settings on Instagram may take longer, you probably want that for the best results. So, in this guide, we’ll show you how to turn on high-quality videos on Instagram so your photos and videos look better when creating and uploading Reels.

Enable High-Quality Video on Instagram on Android

There are benefits to using the default settings to upload videos to Instagram. In addition to getting a responsive upload experience, it’s helpful to upload media faster, even on Wi-Fi with shoddy connectivity.

Have you asked yourself, “Where is the high-quality upload Instagram setting”? We’ll show you where to find it to enable the high-quality option buried deep within the app’s settings.

To Use Instagram’s High-Quality Video Settings on Android

1. Launch the Instagram app on your Android device.
2. Tap your profile icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
3. Select the menu button in the upper right corner of the screen.
4. Tap the Settings and privacy option when the menu appears.
5. Tap the Data usage and media quality option from the menu.
6. On the following screen, you will see a couple of options. To toggle on the Upload at highest quality switch under the Media upload quality section.

Now, your photos and videos will be uploaded to Instagram at the same quality they were taken. It’s important to mention that having the Data Saver option enabled will limit high-resolution uploads. So, toggle it off for the best results.

It’s also worth noting that with the highest quality option turned on, it will bump the data usage on your wireless plan. Remember if you have a limited data plan and want to avoid overage fees.

Use the Highest Quality Instagram Media Uploads on iPhone

Enabling the high-quality upload option on your iPhone is also straightforward, but the steps slightly vary from Android.

1. Launch the Instagram app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap your profile icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
3. Select the menu button in the top right corner of the screen.
4. Swipe down the screen and select the Media quality option under the Your app and media section of the menu.
5. Toggle on the Upload at the highest quality switch to get the best resolution videos. Like Android, you want to ensure the Use less cellular data switch is off.

Uploading Photos and Videos at Highest Quality on Instagram

You may wonder, “Why do my high-quality videos look bad on Instagram”? The answer is that even if you use a phone’s camera at its highest settings, the videos are likely uploading at a lower resolution for speed and space-saving reasons. That means the photos and videos will sacrifice quality when you create a post.

To avoid this, you can use the hidden high-quality video setting on Instagram to ensure the videos and photos look as best as possible. Once you follow the above steps, you should start seeing immediate results to get the best from your Instagram posts.