Not so long ago, visitors to Instagram.com were greeted with a simple holding page pointing at the all-important iPhone and Android apps, but the times, as the fella says, are a-changin'.
Soon after Facebook got its claws into the hipster-friendly photo sharing app, Instagram launched web profiles, complete with vanity URLs to showcase each user's filtered creations.
On Tuesday the company took matters a step further by transporting photo feeds to the web, in another departure from its long-held, mobile-only focus.
Co-founder Kevin Systrom said the web expansion was about making Instagram "even more accessible to our growing community," and bringing wider access on devices that "may be convenient to you at a given moment."
Uploads staying mobile-only
Users can now log into their accounts at Instagram.com and see their friends' snaps displayed just as they would on and iOS or Android device. A user's own profile is also just a click away.
The browser-based feed behaves in very much the same way as the mobile app. A double-click 'likes' the photo in question, while its also easy to leave and view comments.
The last bastion of mobile exclusivity is now the upload process itself and Systrom was quick to assure that this functionality would not be coming to the web any time soon.
"Since our launch in October of 2010, we've focused on building a simple app that has inspired creativity while capturing everyday moments through the lens of your mobile phone," he wrote on the company blog.
"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."
