Instagram continues to grow and grow and grow
When Facebook announced their acquisition of Instagram in 2012, it had already been downloaded by more than 30 million users. Now, in 2014, there are over 300 million active Instagram users. Today, the company announced and celebrated their 300 million+ milestone. They also announced the addition of several helpful features.
The app is launching “verified” badges for celebrities, brands, sports stars, and the like in an effort to crack down on the amount of spam-ridden accounts. This will also help new Instagram users identify which account is the authentic one.
These badges will be similar to the ones offered on Facebook and Twitter and will “start rolling out over the coming days” according to Instagram Chief Executive, Kevin Systrom.
Instagram’s celebration of 300+ million makes it bigger than Twitter, which is a bit surprising. The last time Twitter announced their active users, they rang in at around 284 million active users, although this could have changed.
Instagram is still behind Facebook’s Messender app, and Facebook itself. However, considering it grew from 30 million to 300 million in only two years, it will be interesting to see how it does in the next two years.
“Keeping Instagram authentic is critical”
You may remember when Instagram launched their version of sponsored ads, placing ads into user’s feeds in 2013. With the addition of sponsored ads, it’s more important now than ever before for user’s to see which accounts are authentic and which are not. “As more people join, keeping Instagram authentic is critical—it’s a place where real people share real moments. We’re committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web,” he wrote in the blog post.
He also says they have been deactivating spammy accounts from Instagram “on an ongoing basis to improve your experience. As part of this effort, they will be deleting these accounts forever, so they will no longer be included in follower counts.”
As more users come to Instagram, verified badges seem like a logical step for the social media platform. Hopefully they will add additional updates to reduce spam and make Instagram even more useful.
Bonus: new filters!
Instagram today announced five new filters as shown below, and will now offer the ability for you to sort your favorite filters, offering even more control.
“To make it easier to choose between filters, we’ve updated how they’re displayed. When you go to apply a filter to your photo, each filter icon on the bottom now displays a blurred preview of your photo with its effect applied. This lets you see at a glance how your photo will appear with each filter applied,” Instagram writes. Nice!
Instagram is growing and adding more features – watch for this trend to continue.
