Instagram web update makes searching for selfies a cinch

The new search feature which Instagram is introducing on its updated site will give the service’s Web users the ability to click on and search user accounts, locations, and hashtags; similar to what they do on the Instagram smartphone app.

According to the Verge, the users can search for anything from hashtags, locations and usernames right from the desktop.

The update has been released worldwide. “Instagram.com is designed to be complementary to the mobile apps”, Instagram said. However, the newly added search and tagging features, along with a better website design and the option to store and view high-resolution images have finally brought some much-needed improvements that hopefully, will lead to a progressively better web experience. Embedded Instagram posts created more than 5.3 billion impressions in the month of June alone, the company says, so giving users more ways to find new content stands to increase engagement with the website. Being the go-to app for people even remotely interested in sharing via photographs, Instagram has been known for doggedly holding on to its roots of being an app-first experience.

Jersey City, New Jersey – Instagram launches its first web search tool – Explore features, putting work in desktop offerings that will potentially highlight the application’s competition with Twitter.

Instagram’s website was started three years ago, but its functionality has been limited. It also shows top posts and landing pages for geotags.