Instagram gives its mobile site a major upgrade, adds photo sharing, Explore tab

By Lulu Chang May 8, 2017

how to use Instagram Stories — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Far be it from Instagram to abandon its mobile roots, but the photo-sharing app certainly isn’t averse to some edits of its own, especially when that means reaching a larger user base.

The Facebook-owned social network recently gave its mobile website a huge upgrade, adding some of the most important components of its app, including photo sharing and even a stripped-down version of the Explore tab. That means that users in countries with slower networks (think India, parts of Africa, and other high-population but relatively low-tech regions) will be able to access the joys of Instagram, even if they can’t download the full app.

Previously, logging onto the mobile version of Instagram.com didn’t offer all that much functionality. Options were more or less limited to looking around — you could follow, search, and check out your notification center, but you couldn’t post anything. While you still can’t post from the desktop version of the website, that’s no longer true of the mobile site. Beginning in March, Instagram slowly began to introduce sharing, as well as the Explore tab, to its mobile version.

Keep in mind that you still can’t upload videos or send direct messages, but it certainly seems as though Instagram is getting closer to making its service a bit friendlier to areas of the world with expensive data and spotty connections. After all, parent company Facebook has proven just how useful lightweight versions of its apps are, so it comes as little wonder that Instagram is (sort of) following suit.

As Instagram told TechCrunch, “Instagram.com (accessed from mobile) is a web experience optimized for mobile phones. It’s designed to help people have a fuller experience on Instagram no matter what device or network they are on.”

So are we going to see an Instagram Lite in the coming months or year? Only time will tell.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Computing

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.