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Instagram has doubled its user base to 700 million monthly actives<\/a> in two years, fueled by Stories, web signup, and better onboarding on low-end Android phones. Instagram\u2019s growth rate is actually speeding up. It took just four month to add the last 100 million users since hitting 600 million in December<\/a>, while it took 6 months to go from 500 million to 600 million.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a breakdown of how long it took Instagram to add each 100 million users:<\/p>\n For reference, this makes Instagram more than twice the size of Twitter<\/a>. Soon it might join Facebook\u2019s other properties in the billion user club, since WhatsApp and Messenger have 1.2 billion users, and Facebook 1.8 billion.<\/p>\n When asked if the launch of Snapchat clone Instagram Stories help boost the app\u2019s user count, a spokesperson told me \u201cYes, it\u2019s impacted growth and retention.\u201d Instagram Stories reached 200 million daily active users<\/a> earlier this month, ecclipsing the 161 million total daily users Snap Inc last announced. Instagram\u2019s combined ephemeral and permanent messaging feature Direct that\u2019s also inspired by Snapchat recently hit 375 million monthly users<\/a>.<\/p>\n Instagram\u2019s progress has come at the expense of Snapchat\u2019s growth, which sank 82% since Instagram launched its Stories copycat<\/a> in August. All eyes will be on Snap\u2019s user count when it gives its first earnings report next month.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as Snap deprioritized foreign markets with lower ad rates, Instagram has continued to push its international presence. \u201cDeveloping markets have always been important at Instagram\u201d says a spokesperson. \u201cUS is our biggest market, but Brazil has long been our #2 (currently with 45M users). Along with the UK and Japan, our other big markets include Indonesia, India and Turkey.\u201d Now 80% of Instagram users are outside the US.<\/p>\n Instagram has been building products specifically for these users that can\u2019t afford data plans or have weak connectivity. It just introduced offline mode on Android, and the company tells me it\u2019s been focusing more on its mobile web experience as well as keeping the Android app\u2019s file size to a minimum.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowth was driven by a number of factors, including our ability to better connect people with their friends on Instagram\u201d said a spokesperson. \u201cWe also took steps to simplify and improve our sign-up process, which helped bring in new people from all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n With such a large audience, Instagram has the scale to appeal to top brands. The app now has 1 million active advertisers<\/a>, up from 500,000 in September, with plans to offer them more data and flexibility.<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare for a social network to stay as cool after 6.5 years. Even its owner Facebook was starting to look a bit old at that point. But by sticking to its roots of visual communication while shrewdly adapting to new trends, Instagram has managed to stay on top.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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Instagram has doubled its user base to 700 million monthly actives in two years, fueled by Stories, web signup, and better onboarding on low-end Android phones. Instagram’s growth rate is actually speeding up. It took just four month to add the last 100 million users since hitting 600 million in December, while it took 6 months to go from 500 million to 600 million. Here’s a… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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