Instagram Hits 3 Billion Active Users And Reveals Growth Strategy

Instagram announced on Wednesday that it has reached the milestone of 3 billion monthly active users. The company says it will continue focusing on video and improving its algorithm.

According to CNBC, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, revealed that Instagram had surpassed 3 billion active users. The last time Zuckerberg disclosed Instagram’s user base was in 2022, during an earnings call, when he reported it had reached 2 billion monthly active users.

“What an incredible community we’ve built here,” said Zuckerberg in a post. The milestone represents significant growth in the past few years.

According to TechCrunch, Instagram had 1 billion users in 2018. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, reflected on the platform’s journey, achievements, and strategies behind its rapid growth.

“Messaging, reels, and recommendations have driven most of our recent growth,” said Mosseri in a post on Instagram. “So, over the next few months, we’re going to better organize the app around those features.”

He added that, as part of Instagram’s upcoming strategy, the company will optimize its algorithm and give users more control.

“We’ll soon start testing a way for you to tune your algorithm by adding and removing topics based on your interests, starting with reels,” added Mosseri.

This year, Instagram has been applying new strategies to boost user engagement. A few weeks ago, Meta introduced a new AI-powered translation tool to translate videos in English and Spanish, allowing content creators with more than 1,000 followers to “speak” in another language with its AI-dubbing system.

Meta is also developing AI-driven ad automation, which will allow businesses to create and target ads automatically by 2026.

In May, Meta also announced that the messaging platform WhatsApp reached 3 billion monthly active users during an earnings call.