Instagram hits 3 billion monthly users

Nearly 15 years after its launch, Instagram has just reached a new milestone: 3 billion monthly active users. This information was shared by Mark Zuckerberg on Threads, showing a significant growth compared to 2 billion users by 2022.

Meta doesn't regularly release monthly or daily user numbers for individual apps. However, Facebook hit 2 billion daily active users in 2023, while WhatsApp passed 2 billion monthly users in 2020. In the most recent quarter, Meta reported a total of 3.48 billion "daily active users" across the Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger ecosystems.

Along with this new milestone, Meta is also preparing a series of major changes for Instagram. According to Bloomberg, Reels will become a more important focus in the app. Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed that the navigation bar will be redesigned to "emphasize private messaging and Reels." In addition, the company will test in Korea and India the ability for users to set Reels as their default feed. Notably, the newly launched Instagram app for iPad also chooses Reels as the default feed, reflecting how users interact on the big screen.

These changes come at a time when the US government is nearing a deal that would see TikTok placed under the control of US-based investors. Despite more than a year of uncertainty over its future in the US, TikTok remains a serious competitor to Meta in general and Instagram in particular, especially in the short video space.