News

Instagram Brings Your Photo Feed to the Web, Not Just Phones

February 05, 2013, 6:42 PM

Feb. 5, 2013  -- You no longer have to use your phone to see the latest photos your friends have shared on Instagram. Today Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, announced a Web version of the service. It allows you to view your Instagram feed right through instagram.com on your laptop, tablet or desktop.

"To make Instagram even more accessible to our growing community, at the end of last year we started to expand to the desktop Web, giving you the ability to see profiles from instagram.com," Instagram's CEO, Kevin Systrom, wrote on the company blog this afternoon.

In December Instagram introduced Web profiles, which let you see your profile and some of your most popular images. You can now log in to Instagram.com with your username and password and view your entire feed. It's a lot like what you are used to seeing on your phone: You can like a photo by double-clicking right it and leave a comment below.

One thing you can't do is upload a photo to the service from the Web.

"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 real time," Systrom wrote. "On the other hand, Instagram for the Web is focused on making the browsing experience a fast, simple and enjoyable one."

Of course, it hasn't taken long for people to start saying this is the beginning of the Facebook-ization of the service. They imagine it releasing a "Newsfeed" of its own. Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion. Of course, you could also say Facebook is trying to become much more like Instagram. Facebook has been trying to offer all its services on mobile phones.

In December, Instagram announced plans to change its terms of service, which included some new clauses about licensing photos to advertisers. The snafu was dubbed "Instagate." Many users protested online and Instagram reversed course.

You can check out your feed now at Instagram.com.