Instagram Blog

Yesterday, photos of turkeys and pies took over Instagram as people celebrated Thanksgiving Day with friends and family. We saw record usage as Instagrammers shared photos of their loved ones and holiday celebrations.

Over 10 million photos that mentioned Thanksgiving-themed words in their captions were shared yesterday. For several hours throughout the day, more than 200 photos about Thanksgiving were posted every second. Overall, the day broke all Instagram records as we saw the number of shared photos more than double from the day before, making it our busiest day so far.

We’re thrilled to see people use Instagram to share their holidays. Whether celebrating with friends and family or sharing photos with them halfway across the globe, we’re excited to see the intimacy and immediacy of the Instagram experience bring us all closer together over this holiday season.

Today, we are very excited to launch Instagram badges, a tool that will help you link to and promote your Instagram web profile. Add them to your personal blog, brand website, or campaign promotions to direct new followers to your Instagram web profile and encourage others to discover and engage with your Instagram content.

Instagram badges are available in a range of sizes and can be easily added to your website, blog or anywhere that you want to link to your Instagram web profile. There are two ways to access Instagram badges:

• Navigate to your Instagram web profile page. Click on your username to access the drop down menu and choose “Badges”
• Visit instagram.com/accounts/badges

To create a badge for your account, make sure you are logged into the account you’d like to link to. Select the badge you’d like to use, then just copy the code and paste it into your site.

Last night, immediately following the projection that Barack Obama had won a second term as President of the United States, the number of Instagram photos uploaded each second surged to 2.1x the normal rate.

People from around the United States tagged more than 100,000 photos with #IVoted, and 150,000 photos with #election2012, allowing folks to share their own—and tune into others’—election night experience in real-time.

The intimacy and immediacy of the Instagram experience has fostered new and meaningful connections across the globe, whether it’s looking through the lens of a family member across town, or a favorite candidate barnstorming across the nation. We love watching people share photos in new and interesting ways, and we’re excited about the potential Instagram has to bring us all closer together.

You’ve asked for Instagram on the web and we’ve listened. Over the next few days, we’ll be rolling out Instagram profiles on the web!

Your web profile features a selection of your recently shared photographs just above your profile photo and bio, giving others a snapshot of the photos you share on Instagram. In addition, you can follow users, comment & like photos and edit your profile easily and directly from the web. It’s a beautiful new way to share your Instagram photos!

To see your profile, or to explore a friend’s profile, simply navigate to instagram.com/[username]. For example, in order to view Nike’s profile, @nike, you’d navigate to instagram.com/nike on the web. If you don’t see your profile yet, be assured that you’ll see it in the next few days. We’re rolling out profiles to everyone on Instagram over the course of this week. You can find more information on Instagram profiles below the photos in this post, as well as in our help center.

Take a look at some of these beautiful profiles to get a sense of the new Instagram web experience:

@mycookingdiary

@cucinadigitale

@palomaparrot

What are Instagram web profiles?

Instagram web profiles are a beautiful new way to view and share Instagram on the web! Your web profile features your photos along with your profile photo and bio, giving others a look at the content you share on Instagram.

What can I do with Instagram web profiles?

You can share your own profile with anyone you want to see your Instagram photos. In addition, web profiles provide an easy way to follow other users, comment & like photos, and even edit your profile directly from the web.

Why is Instagram launching web profiles?

We’re launching web profiles to give you a simple way to share your photos with more people and to make it easier to discover new users on the web.

How do I see my web profile?

To see your profile, or to explore a friend’s profile, simply navigate to instagram.com/[username]. For example, in order to view Nike’s profile, @nike, you’d navigate to instagram.com/nike on the web.

Why can’t I see my web profile yet?

Web profiles will launch to all Instagram users in the next week or so. If you can’t see your profile yet, rest assured that you’ll see it in the next few days.

Who can see my web profile?

If your photos are set to public, anyone will be able to see your profile by visiting instagram.com/[your username] on the web. You do not have to be an Instagram user to view a public user’s profile on the web.

If your photos are set to private, your photos will be visible only to logged-in Instagram users you’ve allowed to follow you.

What photos are included in my web profile?

All photos you’ve shared to Instagram are included in your web profile.

My photos are set to “Private” – do I still have a web profile?

Yes, but not everyone will be able to see your photos. Your photos will be visible only to logged-in Instagram users you’ve allowed to follow you.

Can I upload photos from the web?

Instagram is focused on the production of photos from mobile devices so users are not currently able to upload from the web. We’re excited about how Web Profiles will make it easier to browse and share content on the web for all our users.