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Instagram goes web wide with new photo and video embed feature

Instagram has added a new share option to its desktop website, allowing users to embed photos and videos around the web for the first time.


The company announced the update on Wednesday afternoon, and in doing so hopes to make content more visible beyond the standalone mobile app, Instagram.com website and Facebook and Tumblr where photos can already be shared easily.

The new Share button, which appears to the right of single photo pages (not within the timeline), beneath the like and comment buttons. Clicking it serves up an embed code which can be posted to blogs like Tumblr (beyond direct uploads) and on websites with content publishing software that allow media embedding.

Users arent limited to sharing their own photos, they can also publish those belonging to other users of the service.

In a blog post, Instagram says privacy settings still apply so if your photos are private then no-one will be able to post them around the web. However, if youre happy for your photos to be viewed within the app and not happy for them to potentially be plastered all over the web, you may want to think about setting that profile to private.

Unfortunately theres no middle ground. Your posts are either completely private and viewable onto to those you wish to see them, or theyre totally open to all and sundry.

The company wrote: "As always, you own your photos and videos, and we want to make sure that’s understood no matter where your content appears. Whether you want to embed your video on your blog or a friend wants to feature your photo on a website, everyone will clearly see that your content belongs to you. Your embedded photo or video appears with your Instagram username, and clicking on the Instagram logo will take people to your page on Instagram.com where they can discover more of your photos and videos."

The embed option has been present within Twitter and the newer Vine video app for some time, allowing content curators to showcase interesting items to their audience in a native form.

It seems the Facebook-owned Instagram is determined that there are no features offered by Vine that it cannot.