Desk Report:
Instagram, the world’s most popular social media platform, has reached a new high. The number of monthly active users on the platform has crossed the 3 billion mark. CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed this information on Meta’s channel on Wednesday.
He said, “We have built an extraordinary community.”
Meta acquired the app for just $ 100 billion in 2012. Currently, the app has become one of the most influential online platforms in the world.
Like other Meta products, Instagram has now entered the elite club. Earlier this year, Zuckerberg said that both Facebook and WhatsApp had more than 3 billion monthly users. In July 2025, Meta’s apps combined had 3.48 billion daily active users. This number exceeded Wall Street’s forecasts.
Instagram last published its user count in October 2022. At that time, the number was around 2 billion. Meta stopped providing quarterly statistics for the apps from April 2024. As a result, Wednesday’s announcement becomes even more significant.
‘Reels’ has played a major role in Instagram’s rapid growth. The feature was launched in 2020. Reels, which was introduced as a competitor to TikTok, is now Instagram’s main attraction. Videos made with music and trending content have won the hearts of users and advertisers.
In 2020, the Indian government banned TikTok due to security concerns. After that, Instagram quickly filled the gap by launching Reels. This led to a huge increase in Instagram usage in India and the country has now become one of the app’s largest markets.
Globally, Reels is not only facing competition from TikTok but also from Google’s YouTube Shorts. Although it started as a photo-sharing platform, Instagram has now become one of the most influential video mediums.
Meanwhile, TikTok is still gaining influence. The app, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has more than 1 billion monthly active users. TikTok’s role in trends, music and internet culture is undeniable.
Source: India Today
