Your Full Instagram Feed Hits the Web

By Chris Taylor

Ever wanted to browse your full Instagram feed — that is, the latest stuff in real time from everyone you're following on the photo service — without having to reach for your smartphone? Ever wished it was all just available at Instagram.com? You finally got your wish.
Instagram announced Tuesday in a blog post that Instagram.com would no longer be a placeholder front page. If you're logged into the service online, you will see your full feed just as you would on a mobile device.
"Simply put," writes Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, "we’ve brought a simple, powerful, and beautiful Instagram browsing experience to the web." Here's how it works:

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.

You could previously browse your own pictures at a specific URL — instagram.com/futurechris, for example — but this is the first time a real-time feed of the mostly mobile service has been made available on a browser.
There are, of course, still a number of differences between Instagram.com and the mobile app. Most importantly, you still can't upload pictures or add filters at Instagram.com. The website is for passive viewing, Liking and commenting.
And browsing your feed on the site simply isn't as addictive. That familiar, addictive orange dialog box that appears when you load the app — showing you how many people have Liked and commented on your pictures since last you checked — isn't present on the web.
But there are advantages to web viewing. First and foremost, the site can inform you when new pictures arrive. In the mobile app, you have to hit reload to get the same effect. Instagram.com will tell you how many posts from people you follow have been added since last you looked, and the number pops up in your browser tab — just as it does with Twitter's web client.
There's plenty of white space down the side of your feed, suggesting this might be one area where Instagram can put ads in the future, as Facebook looks for more ways to monetize the service.
What do you make of your feed on Instagram.com? Let us know in the comments.