Instagram Crosses 3 Billion Monthly Active Users

Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today. The platform previously crossed the 2 billion milestone back in 2021, and it has now joined Facebook and WhatsApp in the 3 billion users club.

Instagram launched back in 2010 and was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion two years later. Over the years, the app evolved from a simple photo-sharing social network into a larger platform that copies the best features from its competitors, such as Snapchat’s ephemeral Stories and TikTok’s vertical videos. In August, Instagram also introduced a new Reposts feature, with US users also getting access to a Snapchat-inspired social map.

Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri recently told Bloomberg that direct messages are now users’ preferred way to share content on the platform, with ephemeral Stories coming in second place. Instagram’s efforts to emulate TikTok also seem to be working as videos now account for more than 50% of the time users spend in the app.

Instagram finally released an iPad app earlier this month, and… it opens the Reels feed with only vertical videos by default. Another test running in India makes the smartphone app open directly into the Reels feed.