Google have just launched a very Pinterest-like feature for its image search, making it almost effortless to bookmark images to collections without downloading them. The new feature is available to all mobile users and is compatible with all major browsers on iOS and Android. So how does it work you ask?

I haven’t used it myself yet, as it’s only currently available in the US. But from what I’ve heard – say I made a search for “web design”, and I found an image that I thought useful then all I would have to do is click on it, select the star and just like that it’s saved to my collections for the next time I need it. Apparently, when you search for something as wide spread like web design, the search brings up a range of filters displayed along the top – “Responsive”, “Portfolio”, “Templates” – isn’t that exactly what Pinterest does too!? When you’ve starred a few images, you can keep them organised in folders. To add an image to a folder of similar items, you click the edit icon, group name your images such as “Responsive Web Design” and voila! Your image is added to a folder with similar pictures.

Of course, you will have to have a Google account to save images so you are able to access them in your collections. It’s also important to mention it won’t work on the Google app, only the browser. As I mentioned – the feature is currently only available in the United States and we don’t know when it will become Worldwide yet or become available in the UK. Will we be able to use it on desktop? Could Google’s new starring feature challenge the almighty Pinterest?

Being a fond daily Pinner, I can wait; and I’m not too sure about it being a challenge to Pinterest. Most of the time when I Google image search I feel like every man and his dog pops up making it all the more difficult to find what I’m looking for. Pinterest logs your interests, your previous Pins, and what you search for which helps a lot. I often find a lot of the stuff I like on my Pinterest news feed from what my fellow Pinners have been looking at. Also, on that point, unlike Pinterest, all your activity on Google’s new feature is 100% personal to you – there’s no option to share your images with friends making it not nearly as social a network as Pinterest is, so I think it’s too early to consider the new Google feature a challenger just yet.