Instagram hits 3 billion monthly users

Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This milestone comes almost four years after Instagram reportedly hit 2 billion monthly users in December 2021, catching up to other Meta platforms. Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had surpassed 3 billion users in January, followed by WhatsApp in April.

We’ve asked Meta if the new Instagram milestone includes users for its X rival Threads, which launched in July 2023 and requires users to sign up using an Instagram or Facebook account. Bloomberg reports that private messaging and Reels short-form video features are Instagram’s biggest growth drivers, and are what the platform is now focusing on for upcoming updates.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri told the publication that upcoming changes include making DMs and Reels easier to find on the platform’s home screen navigation bar, and an algorithm update that allows users to influence which topics appear more or less frequently in Instagram and Reels feeds.

Instagram is also planning to run tests in India and South Korea that will default users to Reels when opening the app, in an effort to take advantage of India’s TikTok ban.

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