Facebook’s billion-dollar Instagram acquisition is looking better and better. Instagram announced today that it now has more than 300 million monthly active users, up from 200 million in March. At that level, Instagram likely has about as many or more users than Twitter, which announced in October that it had 281 million active users in the third quarter. Either way, what’s clear is that Instagram’s user growth is far outpacing that of Twitter.
“We’re thrilled to watch this community thrive and witness the amazing connections people make over shared passions and journeys,” Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s cofounder and CEO, said in a blog post.
In addition to the user numbers, Instagram announced that it will be introducing “verified badges” for celebrities and brands. It is also in the process of cutting down on “spammy” accounts.
The app is still in the process of monetizing its audience, having introduced ads in November 2013 and rolling out video ads in October 2014. Facebook agreed to acquire Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, an amount that shocked people at the time, but now sounds comparatively cheap.
“There’s no way you could figure out how much we’re worth independently because so much of our growth and our success is because of our very tight-knit relationship with Facebook,” Systrom told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday in response to a question about what Instagram would be worth today. “As an independent company, it would have taken a lot longer to get to this point.”
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