Yes, you read that right: Instagram now has 600 million users. In the six months since the photo-sharing company announced that it has reached the half-billion mark, another 100 million users have been added.
Instagram shared this milestone in a blog post:
“Today we’re proud to announce our community has grown to more than 600 million Instagrammers. And the last 100 million of you joined in just the past six months.
A lot has changed this year, but the Instagram community and the diversity of expression it provides has remained consistent. And you now have more ways to share than ever before with Instagram Stories, live video and disappearing photos and videos in Direct. Additionally, with updated safety tools that give you more control over comments and other parts of your experience, we’re working to make Instagram safer than ever for connection and self-expression.
From all of us at Instagram, thank you for being you. We can’t wait to see what you’ll make next.”
Instagram has been continuously growing at a rate of 100 million users every nine months since December 2014. But with this latest announcement, Instagram’s growth has sped up to 100 million users within six months. This accelerating growth is a sign of Instagram’s bright future, following in the footsteps of its parent company, Facebook, who acquired Instagram in 2012. Instagram is now even bigger than Twitter, which has 313 million monthly active users.
Today we’re proud to announce a community of more than 600 million. From all of us at Instagram, thank you. ❤️ https://t.co/DqHwU0y2Lv pic.twitter.com/OUNyb08tNu
— Instagram (@instagram) December 15, 2016
Instagram’s growth may be attributed to the various changes it has introduced within the last six months, such as:
- Instagram Stories, a Snapchat-like feature which allows users to create images and videos that disappear after 24 hours
- New shopping features for some major U.S. retailers and brands
- Updates to Instagram Stories, including Boomerang mode, mentions, and links
- Live video within Instagram Stories rolling out to all U.S. users
Brands and businesses now have 100 million more reasons to increase their Instagram presence. For more tips and tricks to up your Instagram marketing game, check out SEJ’s Instagram marketing page.
Image Credits
Featured Image: jannystockphoto/DepositPhotos
