Instagram passes 300m user mark

Instagram has passed the 300 million user mark, overtaking Twitter in the process.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Online mobile photo and video-sharing social network Instagram has overtaken Twitter in terms of users, the company has confirmed.

Speaking to Newsbeat, Instagram's chief executive officer Kevin Systrom explained that passing 300 million users was an "exciting" milestone for the company and that it would "continue to grow". The landmark means that Instagram has surpassed fellow social networking website Twitter's user number of 284 million each month.

Launched in 2010, Instagram allows users to take and edit pictures apply filters and then upload them onto their own personal account. Fellow users can then like, comment on and share the photos on Facebook, Twitter or Flickr. Like with Twitter, Instagram has become a big favourite with celebrities with pop stars to footballers all having their own profile.

As it passes 300 million users, Instagram is now looking to upgrade it service. It is expected to launch verified accounts similar to the blue ticket symbols used by Facebook and Twitter and also is aiming to reduce the amount of fake accounts which break company rules. This will include the deletion of "spammy" accounts.

Mr Systrom told Newsbeat: "Instagram is about seeing a live pulse of the world right now, it's not just about taking a photo of a cute baby or a cute dog.

"We want to be all about authentic users and you making sure that you know you're following real people not bots, not spam accounts, not fake accounts."

The rise of Instagram has not unnoticed in the tech and social media world. The company's success resulted in Facebook purchasing the firm for $1 billion (£629 million) in cash and stock in 2012. This takeover is one of the reasons why Instagram has been able to grow at such a pace in recent years.

Mr Systrom explained that it will now look at adding new features based around major events from across the world ranging from the Rio Carnival, the World Cup or the Super Bowl.

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