Until now, when Instagram users posted a photo they could do so with expectations of a torrent of likes from parents desperately trying in vain to zoom in. This week that all changed as the photo-sharing network released an update to its iOS app (which is currently also being rolled out on Android), giving users the option to pinch to zoom.
The lack of a usable zoom function has been a common grumble among Instagram users for some time now. Unlike other like other photo sharing networks Instagram have been slow on the uptake, meaning that users have had to screenshot any photos they wanted to zoom in on.
The update was announced in a post on the official Instagram account, citing it as part of a larger group of updates constantly focus on improving the core parts of the social network. The post stated that it would allow users to “dive into an adorable puppy’s smile or into every detail of your friend’s new shirt.”
The zoom function can be utilised to focus in posts across board, from the main feed through to personal profiles and the Explore section. Photos are zoomed in on with a backwards pinch that pulls the content out of its frame and blows it up to totally fill the screen. The pinch function will have the extra positive effect of limiting those moments when you awkwardly accidentally like a photo.
What other functions do you think are missing from Instagram/will come to the network soon? We’d love to hear – drop us a tweet @GiraffeSM.
