Instagram hits 3 billion monthly active users

The Reels feature, launched in 2020, allows users to create short-form content. This format competes with content on TikTok (ByteDance, over 1 billion monthly users) and Google-owned YouTube Shorts.

By  Storyboard18| Sep 25, 2025 9:46 AM

Instagram has reported 3 billion Monthly Active Users (MAUs). CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement recently. This user count represents growth from the 2 billion MAUs the company reported in 2022.

Meta bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012. The platform began as a photo-sharing service. Firms now estimate it will supply over half of Meta's U.S. ad revenue this year.

The Reels feature, launched in 2020, allows users to create short-form content. This format competes with content on TikTok (ByteDance, over 1 billion monthly users) and Google-owned YouTube Shorts.

The platform's success follows usage shifts, with India leading global trends. Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, stated at WAVES 2025 that the app is now a video-driven service, a shift driven by India's dramatic increase in online time and drop in data costs over the last five to eight years. Mosseri noted that India shows higher sharing, increased time spent, and greater engagement compared to other regions. He highlighted the country’s content diversity and its leadership in areas like subtitle translation and audio dubbing as models for other markets.

First Published onSep 25, 2025 9:50 AM

SPOTLIGHT

Brand MakersDil Ka Jod Hai, Tootega Nahin

"The raucous, almost deafening, cuss words from the heartland that Piyush Pandey used with gay abandon turned things upside down in the old world order."

Read More

The new face of the browser: Who’s building AI-first browsers, what they do and how they could upend advertising

From OpenAI’s ChatGPT-powered Atlas to Microsoft’s Copilot-enabled Edge, a new generation of AI-first browsers is transforming how people search, surf and interact online — and reshaping the future of digital advertising.