Quick Look: Social Photo Slideshow is a snazzy little Roku app that will display a slideshow of Instagram photos. Just enter a user name (your own or someone else's) or a hashtag, and the app will display photos from that use or hashtag in slideshow style. You don't need to log into your Instagram account to use the app - for that matter, you don't even need to have an Instagram account.
Social Photo Slideshow will launch with a text input screen (see screenshot below). Enter any Instagram username - a friend, a celebrity (the user names of the five most-followed celebrities in 2018, as reported by marieclair.com, are selenagomez, cristiano, arianagrande, beyonce, and kimkardashian), an organization (natgeo, victoriassecret), or yourself - to get a slideshow of that that user's photos. Or, if you want a themed slideshow as a backdrop in your living room or for party entertainment, just enter a hashtag - #beach or #clouds, for example, provide some nice scenic photos.
The app has no options, other than the ability to enter a username or hashtag. You can't enter multiple names or hashtags to add variety to a slideshow. The app won't save entries for later use, and you can't change the slide timing (it's fixed at several seconds per slide) or transition (you're stuck with a simple fade-out between slides). The biggest drawback, however, is that the app does not override your screensaver. Once you start a slideshow, your Roku will think that the device is idle and your screensaver will kick in after the designated delay. If you don't really care about the screensaver, though, go to your Roku's home screen then navigate to Settings >> Screensaver >> Wait time and select "Disable screensaver."
Despite these shortcomings, Social Photo Slideshow is well worth the price if you wan't to display Instragram slideshows on your Roku. However, the app is still a far cry from the Rokagram app that was removed from Roku in 2016 due to issues of compliance with the Instagram API.
-- Information is current as of May 11, 2018
Developer's Channel Description: Create a slideshow from your Instagram photos, or search by hashtag to create a unique presentation. Great for entertaining guests or for use as a screensaver.
CHANNEL STORE CATEGORY: Apps
DEVELOPER: One True Thing Media, LLC
FEES: $1.99 one-time purchase
RELATED LINKS: None
