Image search on Google is starting to look like Pinterest.
Google introduced a new feature on Wednesday that lets people save images directly to their mobile browser. It used to be that you had to save a bookmark, download the image directly, or even pin it to your Pinterest, but now Google is making this process easier on your phone.
Currently, the feature is only available in the US on all major mobile browsers on iOS and Android. When you're looking for an image, select the one you want and tap the star to save it. Once you've starred some images, you can organize them into folders. To add an image to a folder, tap the pencil-shaped edit icon and add the folder name. It's very similar to Pinterest, which lets you save images to categorize them into boards that you can revisit later.
“Let’s say you’re searching for haircuts on Google and you stumble upon an image you like. Just select it and tap the star,” GoogleDiego Accame wrote in a post announcing the new feature. “The next time you’re at the salon, you can easily access the image without having to search again.”
To access the feature, simply make sure you're signed in to your Google account. Since the feature launched yesterday, it may not be available to all users immediately. The company hasn't provided details on when the feature will be available globally or whether it will be available on desktop.
The Google image search update follows other recent changes to the company’s platforms. In May, Google+ revamped its social network by introducing another Pinterest-like feature: Collections. Google+ users can group similar posts by topic. In a further nod to Pinterest, users can follow Collections for updates on their homepage.
