Photo sharing app Instagram hits one billion users

If you were looking for an app success story to kickstart your day, look no further than Instagram. The photo sharing app announced that it had reached one billion users earlier this week – making it one of the most successful apps of all time.

The perfect inspiration for anyone about to get started building a successful app business, the Facebook-owned app has soared above its rivals to pack in millions of active new users.

In September last year, the app had 800 million active users so it has picked up 200 million more in the last nine months – a growth rate which leaves Facebook and Snapchat’s own user acquisition in the shade. Snapchat says its daily user growth rate was just 2.13% in Q1 of 2018, giving it a total user base of 191 million. Facebook has a 3.14% monthly growth rate and 2.19 billion users. In comparison, Instagram is growing at a mighty 5% per quarter.

Instagram TV

After taking on Snapchat with its own Stories, Instagram now has its sights set on YouTube – a few days ago it said users would be able to upload videos of up to one hour in length compared with the current one minute restriction. IGTV will have a standalone app and be accessible with a single button click from the Instagram home screen – giving it yet another way to pull in new users.

With its one billion monthly active user milestone, expect to see Instagram finding new ways to monetise that user base. As with any savvy app developer, owner Facebook is thought to be looking at ways to grow its advertising revenue with in-app advertising. The new IGTV app is sure to offer new video advertising opportunities but there’s also plenty of options for sponsored posts and stories too.

Having grown by 200 million users since last September, there are a lot of questions as to how Instagram has managed to keep its user base while Snapchat and Facebook have both struggled. The launch of its Stories is sure to have played a strong part in winning over new users and, with brands and influencers flocking to use the tool, a likely reason that Snapchat has been unable to provide more competition over the last couple of quarters.

One thing is for sure – Instagram’s continuous push to generate new features (it’s also provided a slew of new in app tools such as those for creating emojis and gifs) should see it see rocketing past that one billion mark in the next six months of the year.