The app, made by Think Time Creations, costs $2 and can be downloaded via the Mac App Store. Whereas Instagram’s browser viewing leaves much more to be desired, Grids is visually more pleasing. It supports Macs with Retina displays, and there’s a full-screen mode (however, we aren’t sure we’d want to view any individual smartphone photo blown up on a 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, but Grids displays all the squared photos in a grid pattern, hence the name). Unlike Instagram’s Web browser experience, Grids lets you do what you’d normally do with the app: switch between feeds, favorites, what’s popular, your collection, and what was shot nearby; “like,” comment, and follow; and search for users and hashtags. You can also add bookmarks and check out who’s been looking at your photos.
Alas, the one thing you can’t do – which we wish we could – is upload photos from the desktop, which is something that can only be done via Instagram’s official app. But for Instagram junkies who need to follow their activity, whether on a phone or computer, Grids offers a more elegant way to do it than Instagram’s own Web-based browser.
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