Instagram reportedly surpasses 2 billion monthly active users

Instagram currently has over 2 billion monthly active users, reports CNBC, citing an anonymous employee of the social media platform who reportedly leaked the information.

This information still warrants confirmation, but likely will not be officially announced anytime soon, as neither Facebook nor Instagram, social media sites owned by Meta, are known for disclosing official information regarding yearly finance and active user count.

The last time such information was publicly disclosed was back in June 2018, where Instagram was announced to have reached over 1 billion monthly active users.

Experts suggest this is a key milestone for Instagram, especially considering the backlash the company has faced recently.

On 8 December, Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, was called to Congress to testify for the app's security concerns, especially regarding content management for its younger users.

During the testimony, Mosseri stated that he is proud of how Instagram has kept younger users safe. This statement contrasted the US lawmakers' notion that Instagram is harmful to teens and the company hasn't done enough to promote a healthy and safe platform.

TikTok, Instagram's rival app, announced in September that it reached 1 billion monthly active users. While Instagram had a head start in user count, the competition is still going strong.

A survey by the global research company Forrester states that in 2021, 57% of US citizens aged from 12 to 17 used Instagram on a weekly basis. To compare with Instagram's rival app, TikTok garnered 63% users in the same demographic. 

Statistics by Sensor Tower show that TikTok has also beaten Instagram in overall downloads this year in Apple and Google devices, reaching 596.1 million global installations versus Instagram's 570.7 million.