Social Media (Reference)

Instagram just reached 1 billion users

By Rob Price and Avery Hartmans
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Emma McIntyre/Getty
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  • Instagram announced on Wednesday it had reached 1 billion active users for the first time ever. 
  • In comparison, Facebook has around 2.19 billion monthly active users and Snapchat has about 100 million monthly active users.
  • Instagram also announced it was launching a hub for creators to upload long-form videos and make money from ads. 

Instagram has reached a major new milestone: 1 billion users. 

On Wednesday, the social media announced the new statistic at a press event alongside its new YouTube-rivalling video hub, IGTV.

It means Instagram joins a prestigious club of apps and services that have one billion users, that includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Google Chrome, and YouTube.

As of the first quarter of 2018, Instagram parent company Facebook had about 2.19 billion monthly active users. Snapchat, Instagram's main competitor, said in February it has 100 million monthly active users.

"It truly wouldnt have happened without all of you," CEO Kevin Systrom said of hitting the one-billion-user-mark.

This story is developing...

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Rob Price
Rob Price was a senior correspondent at Business Insider, based in San Francisco. He wrote investigations and long-form features about platforms, people, and power in Silicon Valley.His stories variously led to attorney general investigations, large-scale internal reviews at major tech companies, high-profile personnel departures, citation by state and federal lawmakers, and the closure of a well-funded startup. His 2022 story on the Bitfinex hack is being adapted into a feature film, and in 2024 he received an SPJ NorCal Excellence in Journalism award for his reporting on AI and relationships.Rob's scoops and exclusive stories were cited by The New York Times, Bloomberg, the BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, CNBC, Politico, The Guardian, Axios, and many other national and international publications. His writing has also been published in or syndicated by The Washington Post, The Independent, Vice, Slate, and elsewhere, and he appeared on CNN, the BBC, CBS, Reuters, ABC Australia, and other broadcast media to discuss technology, business, and culture.He worked for Business Insider from 2015 to 2025. Prior to joining the features team, Rob covered Facebook and Silicon Valley, and before that wrote about tech business, policy, and the gig economy in London. Between September and October 2019, he was acting executive editor for Business Insider's UK bureau. He also sat on the board of directors for the San Francisco Press Club, the leading non-profit media advocacy group in the Bay Area, and was a volunteer crew member at the Marine Mammal Center, the world's largest animal hospital for marine mammals. You can contact Rob Price via email at robaeprice@gmail.com, or +1 650-636-6268 (Signal / WhatsApp / Cell). Selected stories:— They spoke out against their employer. Then they were hit with trade secrets suits.— The rise of 'shadow stand-ins'— App, Lover, Muse: Inside a 47-year-old Minnesota man's three-year relationship with an AI chatbot— Deel Speed: The inside story of a $12 billion HR startup's breakneck growth— Private islands, flying cars, and psychedelic parties: Inside the wild post-Google lives of Larry Page and Sergey Brin— 'I want your Instagram account': First came the threatening texts, followed by the SWAT teams. Then someone wound up dead.— Inside Iconiq: How Mark Zuckerberg's banker built a secret Silicon Valley empire and made billions— Gaia was a wildly popular yoga brand. Now it's a publicly traded Netflix rival pushing conspiracy theories while employees fear the CEO is invading their dreams— A drunken late-night assault allegation has roiled the secretive world of Mark Zuckerberg's private family office. Personal aides are speaking out about claims that household staff endured sexual harassment and racism from their colleagues.
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Avery Hartmans
Avery Hartmans is a senior reporter on Insider's retail team covering the apparel industry and tracking changes in how and why people shop.  She previously worked on Insider's business news desk. Before that, she spent four years on the tech team, covering the consumer tech world and later serving as Insider's tech editor. Before joining Insider, she covered startups for the Pittsburgh Business Times. She has a degree in journalism from Syracuse University. You can contact her at ahartmans@jkmperu.com.
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