One adored app has just made its first leap away from the mobile-only world.
Instagram, darling of the mobile photo-sharing community, rolled out new profiles on Nov. 5, making the service's filtered photos accessible via the world wide web. You might notice the format for Instagram's latest platform appears to be pretty similar to the profiles found on its parent company, Facebook.
Check out a sample of what the new Instagram web profiles will look like: [via Instagram's blog]
Definitely looks like Facebook's Timeline profile layout. And, as Facebook purchased Instagram earlier this year, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the two brands are beginning to share a similar look.
"You’ve asked for Instagram on the web and we’ve listened," Instagram's blog reads. "Your web profile features a selection of your recently shared photographs just above your profile photo and bio, giving others a snapshot of the photos you share…"
The new format also allows users to comment, like and edit their profiles on the web.
Until now, Instagrammers had to use a third-party service, like Webstagram or Statigram, to view Instagram accounts on the web.
Want to access your new profile? Go to instagram.com/[username] to view this latest feature. For example, CEO and Co-founder Kevin Systrom's Istagram username is @kevin, thus his web address is under instagram.com/kevin. And if you can't see your profile yet, don't worry: The company hopes to have most users actively online within in the next several days.
But the web version of Instagram does appear to be somewhat secondary to the mobile app original. The Verge reports that "Instagram on the web notably still lacks search, a news feed for browsing photos, and the ability to upload photos." There's also no true homepage or way to click through friends' profiles without knowing their username. These handy functions are still available only via the Android or iOS apps.
Still, AllThingsD believes the latest platform is a step in the right direction for Instagram. "Despite the massive shift from desktops to mobile devices over the past few years, there’s obviously still a significant amount of people using desktops to view the Web," the site states. "Web profiles only offer more opportunity for Instagram to capture that demographic."
Instagram launched in October 2010, and according to Mashable, successfully reached 100 million users by September 2012. Facebook announced this past Spring that it would acquire Instagram for a whopping $1 billion in cash and stock; by the time the deal closed in September, however, Wall Street's pummeling of Facebook shares had reduced the deal's value to $716 million.
Are you an Instagram user? Do you think you'll check out the new web profiles? Sound off in the comments section or tweet your opinions to @HuffPostTech. Then flip through the slideshow (below) of 11 things you should never do on Instagram, or read about the ridiculously Rich Cats of Instagram (here).
