In a move set to help unify device compatibility with their popular image sharing app, Instagram today launched a new web gallery feature, allowing users to browse their images and the images of other users online. Using the service is as simple as logging into Instagram.com with your current username and password.
From the Instagram blog:
Your Instagram Feed on the web functions much like it does on your mobile phone. You can browse through the latest photos of people whom you follow with updates as people post new photos. Like photos by double clicking on them or pressing the like button. Or, engage in a conversation around a photo with inline commenting. Browse through pages of the most recent images to keep up on what’s happening with the people you follow in realtime. And shrink your browser down to a single column for your feed to look more like your mobile feed. Simply put, we’ve brought a simple, powerful, and beautiful Instagram browsing experience to the web.
Using the gallery, users can now browse through recent photos, and even like and comment on photos without using the mobile app – although to the dissapointment of some, users cannot submit images using the website. In order to upload images, you must still use the mobile app on your smartphone or tablet.
We believe that you should be able to access Instagram on a variety of different devices, any of which may be convenient to you at a given moment – including your desktop computer or tablet. We do not offer the ability to upload from the web as Instagram is about producing photos on the go, in the real world, in realtime. On the other hand, Instagram for the web is focused on making the browsing experience a fast, simple and enjoyable one.
The new website is likely part of Facebook’s controversial plan to “monetize” Instagram and content shared using the service, although it’s unclear exactly how those intentions will involve the web gallery. Instagram was acquired by Facebook last year, and the service has been steadily increasing its web presence ever since.
What’s great about the new website is that it still sticks to the simple, minimal interface users of the app have come to know and expect – and indeed, it looks as good as Instagram on mobile devices ever did! Head on over to Instagram to check it out for yourself and see the new web features in action!
