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Monday, Nov 5, 2012 9:00 PM UTC

Photo-sharing app Instagram expands to the Web

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Topics: From the Wires,

NEW YORK (AP) — Instagram, the photo-sharing app that was created for mobile phones, is expanding to the Web.

The service will launch Instagram profiles on the Web over the next few days. Previously, users’ profiles existed only on Instagram’s mobile applications accessed on the iPhone or Android devices. Now, users will have a website with a profile photo, bio and a selection of the snapshots they’ve recently shared on Instagram.

Instragram, which is owned by Facebook Inc., made its announcement in a blog post Monday.

The layout of the Web profiles is reminiscent of Facebook timelines, except with little text and no ads. Users will have a large cover image that’s a collage of their old Instagram shots. Their profile photo is on the right side and their snapshots cascade down the page.

Facebook has insisted since it bought Instagram this year that it will keep it running as a separate service. That still appears to be the case. The Instagram Web pages don’t link to Facebook and don’t ask users to log in using their Facebook accounts.

Instagram’s privacy settings are like Twitter’s. Users can either choose to be fully public, so that anyone can see and comment on their photos, or private, such that photos can be seen only to pre-approved followers. Unlike with Facebook’s complex, granular privacy controls, there is nothing in between.

Facebook, which is based in Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to buy Instagram in a deal valued at $1 billion in April, before its May initial public offering of stock. Upon closing on Aug. 31, the deal was worth $715.3 million because of Facebook’s fallen stock price.

Barbara Ortutay

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

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  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

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