Tumblr is finally updating its mobile apps on Android and iOS to add long overdue customization tools.
Tumblr, Yahoo-owned social networking and blogging platform, rolled out a major update to its mobile apps that allows users to customize their profiles and change color palettes. The customization option was long available for desktop users but not for Android and iOS users. But with the update to version 3.6 on mobile, users can control how their blog looks by choosing from a wide range of colors, fonts, pictures and avatars.
The update to Tumblr app on Android and iOS was announced in a company's official blog, Tuesday, boasting the changes bring a personalized touch to user's profiles on mobile. While speaking with news site Mashable, the New York-based company's creative director, Peter Vidani, said the update was significant.
"This is our biggest launch in the past five years," Vidani said on Tuesday. "We're allowing customization and theming to occur in mobile apps, which is huge, because mobile takes up half of our total traffic and it's rapidly growing."
In addition to choosing new themes and colors for the Tumblr account from its companion mobile apps, the update also lets users control the parts of the layout that will be visible. Also, changes made on either mobile or desktop will automatically sync instantly. Vidani also took a swing at rival social networks such as Instagram while highlighting the new features in the update.
"There are social networks out there that have restricted environments and don't let users really express themselves - you're stuck in a cookie cutter layout," he said. "But here, you can do whatever you want to do and in whatever wild expression you choose, on whatever platform you pick."
According to Mashable, Vidani said the update was a result of continuous hard work of about a year. The updated Tumblr mobile app is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
