Instagram, the video and photo-sharing platform owned by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), announced that the number of its users reached more than 500 million today.
The company also disclosed that more than 300 million users are using its platform every day and more than 80% of Instagrammers are located outside the United States.
“Whether you’re an illustrator, a sneakerhead or an astronaut on the International Space Station, every photo and video you share helps bring people closer to friends and interests, broadens perspectives and inspires sense of wonder. You’ve made Instagram a place where the everyday and the epic always within reach,” according to the company in a statement on Tuesday.
Instagram easily surpassed Twitter
The figures show that Facebook’s video and photo-sharing platform is growing rapidly and it is becoming increasingly popular not only in the United States but also overseas.
The video and photo sharing platform managed to double its user base over the past two years. It is easily surpassing Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), which has over 300 million users. The microblogging company has been implementing changes and introducing different features to its platform, but it is still struggling to attract new users.
A significant revenue contributor for Facebook
Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. It was the first large acquisition made by the social network giant. Some people expressed skepticism on the transaction because the video and photo-sharing platform has only a dozen employees and no revenue at the time.
Facebook believed that acquiring Instagram would improve its mobile offerings. Additionally, it would also help the social network giant in keeping its users from shifting their attention to competitors.
Since the acquisition, Instagram became one of the most popular social media apps globally. A recent study from e-Marketer indicated that more than one in four people in the United States will use the app this year. It is expected to become the second most popular social network in the country following Facebook, its parent company.
Instagram is also expected to become a significant revenue contributor to Facebook. eMarketer estimated that Instagram will generate $1.5 billion in advertising revenue this year. Analysts at Credit Suisse had a higher estimate of $3.2 billion this year.
Instagram opened its advertising platform to businesses worldwide in September last year,The company managed to attract more than 200,000 advertisers after five months.
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