Instagram finally brings search to the web

Instagram’s bare-bones website has long lagged behind the capabilities of its flagship app, but today it’s getting an update that makes it a bit more useful. Nearly three years after it first came to the web, the company said today it’s rolling out a search feature on its website. You can now search for hashtags, locations, and user accounts right from your desktop. Instagram is also refining the landing pages for hashtags and locations, so that when you click a link on Instagram.com, you’ll see a page with the most popular results placed on top of recent photos.

The move comes about a month after Instagram introduced improved search and discovery features inside its mobile app, redesigning its “explore” tab to surface trending tags and places. Those features have yet to come to the web, and it may be a long time before they do. “Instagram.com is designed to be complementary to the mobile apps,” the company said in a blog post. That’s a nice way of saying the web will never be Instagram’s top priority. But the long-overdue search features are a welcome addition.