A new Google feature that allows you to archive photos could give Pinterest a headache

Google has introduced a Pinterest-like feature that allows people to archive photos into folders and look at them later.

The new Google Inside Search feature - described in more detail on this blog post by Google software engineer Diego Accame - allows users to star and bookmark images directly from Google's image search in a mobile browser.

Google highlights how people could use the feature to store photos of things like their next big adventure, a knitting project or a style-changing haircut. This is the same sort of "inspirational" content that Pinterest users archive when they pin images to their Pinterest "boards".

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"Once you've starred a few images, you can keep them organised in folders: to add an image to a folder of similar items, tap the pencil shaped edit icon," Accame wrote. "Create a grouping such as 'haircuts for the winter' or 'snowman ideas' and your image will be added to a folder with similar ones."

The new feature will initially only be available to mobile users in the US and can only be used when users are logged into their Google account. It is compatible with all major browsers on iOS and Android, Google said.

Pinterest, a San Francisco startup with an $11 billion (£7.3 billion) valuation, has 151 million users and is planning to grow its user base to 329 million by 2018. It makes money by selling adverts on its platform but it is also reportedly working on a new product called "Action Buttons" that will allow users to instantly check out shopping items straight from Pinterest.

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