We started Unsplash in a dusty office above a grocery store. Back then, it was just Mikael and a Tumblr blog with 10 photos.

Today, Unsplash is one of the most potent creative cauldrons on the internet: Thousands of photographers, millions of eyeballs, and billions of delicious photo views™ breaking the internet on a daily basis.

But it’s not time to pat ourselves on the back. Not even close. What truly makes Unsplash Unsplash isn’t our sexy code or our sexy sweaters (and boy-o-boy are they sexy) — it’s the unsurpassable Unsplash community.

To celebrate YOU, we’re ringing in a billion with a new, fresh, and surprisingly speedy update 🐎

So are you an Unsplash fan? Photographer? President? Whatever side of the Unsplash community you’re on — you’re in for a treat.

Announcing:

Unsplash Following Unsplash Notifications Unsplash Stories Unsplash S Unsplash Local

We make time for community ;)

1. Introducing: The Following Feed

Unsplash isn’t just an anonymous collection of spellbinding photos. It’s now a platform to discover your next favourite photographer. (And a place for photographers to find their next biggest fan.)

That’s right: starting today, you can now follow anyone you want on Unsplash.

On the Following Feed, you’ll be updated on the latest uploads from your favourite Unsplash photographers — say, someone like Samuel Zeller or Tobias van Schneider. You’ll also be able to see what your friends are liking. If you’re friends with our accountant Chris, expect to see some pineapples.

The Following Feed makes it much easier for great photos to be discovered. Unsplash photographers: you no longer have to rely on serendipity to have your photos go viral — because as soon as you upload a photo, your followers can begin liking and sharing it with their own followers.

This is just the latest way that we (the omnipotent Unsplash dev team) are ceding power to you (the super foxy Unsplash community.)

With the introduction of the Following Feed, you can finally customize your photo-viewing experience on Unsplash. We’ve meticulously designed the Following Feed to showcase your photos, which means goodbye to the familiar “three column” layout used on our Home and New pages — and hello to PhotoGrid. It’s our new smart way to display photos. We want to give each photo room enough to breathe. Check it out. It’s perrrty.