Famous Instagrammers we talked to all swear by this one photo editing app

When Tech Insider asked famous Instagram users which apps they use to edit their photos, there was one app almost everyone swore by.

It's called VSCO, and it's free to download in the App Store and on Google Play. While the app can be used to take photos on an iPhone or Android phone, Instagrammers love it for its retro, film camera-inspired filters.

"I really will only use one app, and that's VSCOcam," said Andrew Kearns, who's Instagram account has 72,000 followers. "It's very simple, and easy to use, and gets great tones easily."

App Store

VSCO has a lot of editing tools not found in Apple's stock Photos app, like the ability to adjust the color of someone's face. But its dozens and dozens of filters — which all draw aesthetic inspiration from classic film camera looks — are its real appeal.

Cory Staudacher, who goes by @withhearts to his 634,000 followers on Instagram, described VSCO as "my go to editing app for filters and adjustments. I love adding the classic film look with a simple VSCO filter."

A photo posted by Cory Staudacher (@withhearts)Nov 19, 2015 at 6:07pm PST

"For mobile editing, all I really use is VSCOcam to be honest," said Benj Haisch, a photographer with 186,000 followers on Instagram. "[It's] the best mobile editing platform in terms of toning photographs on the market."

VSCO has been around for years (the company began by selling similar presets for Adobe's Lightroom software on the desktop), and Chris Ozer said that it's remained "popular for a reason." Ozer, who has 666,000 followers on Instagram, likes the app's filters "when used very lightly."

A photo posted by Chris Ozer (@chrisozer)Oct 29, 2015 at 4:15pm PDT

Ozer has a great trick for achieving a clean, timeless aesthetic with his photos: "I start at the bottom of the dial and slowly make my way up, calculating the changes the preset is making to the photo as I go, usually never going higher than 5."