Instagram has officially reached 3 billion monthly active users, marking a huge milestone for the Meta-owned platform. The announcement came from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who credited the platform’s rapid growth to features like DMs, Reels, and algorithmic recommendations.
Instagram first crossed the 1 billion user mark back in 2018. In just a few years, it has managed to triple that number. This growth makes it one of the largest social platforms in the world. According to Mosseri, the focus will now shift even more toward the features driving this growth. “Because of that, we’re going to continue to focus on those products and reorient the app more around DMs, Reels, and recommendations over the next couple of months,” he said in a video statement.
But not everyone is happy with these changes. Many users say Instagram is now showing too many Reels and random posts instead of photos from friends. To fix this, Instagram is working on a new feature that will let people control the algorithm better.
In its early version, the feature allows users to toggle topics that Instagram thinks they are interested in. For example, if the app shows you endless reels about college football, film photography, or chess, you will soon be able to mute topics that no longer appeal to you. This customization may start with Reels but could eventually extend across other feeds.
Instagram is also planning to change the navigation bar at the bottom of the app. Right now, the center button is for uploading posts, but soon it will be replaced with a shortcut to DMs (Direct Messages). This shows how important private chats have become for Instagram. More people are sharing Reels and posts privately with friends instead of posting publicly. By putting DMs in the center of the app, Instagram wants to make chatting and sharing even easier.
For now, Instagram is still growing fast. With 3 billion users and new AI features coming, the app is focusing even more on the things that make it more popular than Facebook.
