Instagram is about to get a whole lot newsier

Next time you use your phone to Instagram another flawless pic (or, if you're not Beyonce, to give your friend's cousin's engagement photo an obligatory 'like') you might be surprised by an expanded set of search options.
An Instagram update announced today allows users to relate to more content in real time. The Explore page, which was previously a gallery of photos liked by followers and friends, has been revamped to better display trending topics and hashtags. A new feature called Places Search will also let 'grammers search photos by location.
Kevin Systrom, the chief executive and co-founder of Instagram, told The New York Times that today's update is all about making Instagram more conducive to sharing live reactions and experiences. Wired, however, suggests a more direct motivation to the enhanced explore features: Twitter.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Instagram is looking to outdo Twitter — to become the first destination for anyone who wants to document or surface news and information. Instagram is roughly the same size as Twitter in terms of number of users. And those users do the same thing: log life experiences as they happen. But to date, Twitter has been a better outlet for news, because it has a more robust search engine and features that better surface relevant information. While photographers may post 70 million photos daily on Instagram, it's been tough to figure out where the important ones are. In other words, everyone knows there's a party, but no one can give you the address. [Wired]
We'll soon see if Instagram can deliver.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What do heatwaves mean for Scandinavia?
Under the Radar A record-breaking run of sweltering days and tropical nights is changing the way people – and animals – live in typically cool Nordic countries
-
August 17 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include voting rights of felons, misdirection on the way to the Alaska summit, and more
-
5 crime-ridden cartoons about National Guard deployment in DC
Cartoons Artists take on the crime of littering, the real criminals in DC, and more
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards