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| Instagram has more than 2 billion monthly users |
The Instagram-addicted content shocked US lawmakers so much that Adam Mosseri, the CEO of the social networking service, made his first appearance in Congress last week to testify that the photo-sharing app has been in the latter part of the year being raucous.
But despite the controversy, Instagram hit a new milestone of two billion monthly active users this fall. It took three years for the platform to reach 2 billion.
Mosseri's topic during the Senate Trade Subcommittee hearing was on protecting children online, an issue that has tainted Instagram's profile in recent months.
Despite all the negative publicity, this hugely popular app is more relevant than ever to the plight of its parent company (now called Meta).
Since the number of monthly active users crossed the one billion mark in June 2018, Instagram has not disclosed the number of users. When lawmakers and regulators believe that Facebook has too much control over the market, it always avoids promoting its growth.
The platform reached that number a week before Facebook changed its name to Meta in October.
The platform was launched in 2010 and acquired by Facebook for about $1 billion two years later as a cornerstone of CEO Mark Zuckerberg's efforts to move from the web to mobile.
Due to the fierce competition that TikTok is unleashing, it is especially important for the number of TikTok users to reach 2 billion users. TikTok has grown in popularity by making it easier to create and share interesting short videos.
According to a Forrester poll last month, 63% of Americans aged 12-17 use Tik Tok every week this year, compared to 57% on Instagram.
In terms of downloads, TikTok has been installed 596.1 million times worldwide on Apple and Google devices this year. Instagram has more than 570.7 million installs.
Instagram has had a year of constant turmoil
Zuckerberg has reacted a lot: copy competition. Facebook introduced Reels' video sharing feature in August 2020.
The company announced in its third-quarter earnings report in October that it was using Reels as an integral part of its Facebook and Instagram services to attract users between the ages of 18 and 29.
But it's Facebook's efforts to attract younger users to Instagram that have criticized the company from increasingly anxious regulators, lawmakers and parents.
Lawmakers have asked the company to stop developing Instagram products for children under the age of 13. The company announced that it will be temporarily halting the project. But you won't promise to close it.
Since then, congressional committees have held several hearings on the impact of social media on youth, including Mosseri's December 8 statement.
Several senators have compared the youth addiction strategy of Facebook to that of the big tobacco companies.
In October, the main Facebook app had 2.91 billion monthly active users. But compared to photo sharing apps, the rate of expansion is slowing down.
Although the Instagram user base doubled, Facebook only grew by 30%. Facebook app sales are expected to grow 18% to $135.1 billion next year. Instagram is set to grow 30% to $60.5 billion.
For Meta to fund its bold and costly ambitions and bring the company into the so-called meta-universe, it needs to grow Instagram and generate huge profits.