Instagram 3.0 Launches With New Profiles and Photo Maps - Tag Your Favorite Bars!

Just shy of two years old, Instagram has a lot more room for growth. With 80 million users and a new influx of cash and resources thanks to its acquisition by Facebook, Instagram is looking to take its social network to new heights. The first step was made today with the launch of version 3.0 of its iOS and Android app.

The big new feature in Instagram 3.0 is called Photo Maps, and provides a new way for users to organize and browse their photos. Using geo-location, the app will arrange images based on where they were taken. Speaking with TechCrunch, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom spoke on why he believed the organizing by location is better than doing it chronologically:

“How many times have you gone to a user profile and scrolled back to the beginning? No one does," said Systrom. "This is a way to take a step back and reflect on everything that’s happened over the past two years. Photo Maps is such a fun way of re-discovering yourself, but not just yourself, all Instagram users.”

Each profile will have a Map icon that when pressed will show stacks that represent various locations.  The previous two profile views--Grid and Chronological--are still available. Users will be able to deselect images they don't want included in their Photo Map.

The goal is to allow users to focus in on certain locations to see what people in certain locations are photographing. The exampled used by Systrom was the London 2012 Olympics. With the new app, users would have been able to click on London and see a stream of Olympic-related photos.

If you're not into geo-locating, well, this update won't make you very happy. This is perfect for tagging pictures of your favorite nightclubs, bars, restaurants and more.

Instagram 3.0 is available from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.