In this “By the Numbers” statistic post, we take a look at Instagram stats and facts, the world’s largest photo sharing social network.

Instagram was started in 2010 when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger pivoted their location-based check-in platform, Burbn, because of the success of competitor foursquare in the space. Their re-focus centered on mobile photo-sharing, which became what we now know as Instagram. It was originally launched as an iOS-only app and remained so until 2012.

2012 proved to be a huge year for Instagram. Not only did they launch their highly anticipated Android app, but they also were acquired by Facebook scoring the founders and investors of Instagram a monster haul.

Instagram has quickly gone from a trendy iOS-only app, to a massive social network with Android and web presence. It hasn’t shown any sign of slowing down, and has grown exponentially since the Facebook deal. They have truly flourished as a Facebook property but have managed to retain their own independent identity, branding and following over the years. Here is everything you need to know.

Instagram Facts:

Website: Instagram.com
Release date: October 6, 2010
Founders: Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger
Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
Owner: Facebook

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends and family. Take a picture or video, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram—it’s that easy. You can even share to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and more. It’s a new way to see the world. (source)

Instagram History

2010 – Instagram launches
2011 – Hashtag functionality is added
2012 – Instagram launches on Android; Facebook acquires Instagram
2013 – Video sharing functionality is added; Sponsored posts debut; Direct launches
2015 – Boomerang launches
2016 – Instagram gets an app and feed redesign; Stories launch; Instagram desktop launches; Live video functionality launches
2018 – IGTV launches

Instagram Stats:

How many people use Instagram?

1 Billion Monthly Active Users

Last updated 6/20/18

How many Instagram users are on it daily?

500 million Daily Active Users

Last updated 9/26/17

Number of daily active Instagram stories users:

400 million daily users

Last updated 6/28/18

Average amount of a Instagram users feed that they miss:

70%

Last updated 6/2/16

Percentage of Instagram users that are from outside the U.S.:

80%

Last updated 6/22/17

Percentage of business on Instagram that have produced a story:

over 50%

Last updated 8/4/17

Most followed Instagram user:

Selena Gomez ( @selenagomez) – 130M+ Followers

Last updated 11/29/17

Number of business profiles on Instagram:

8 million

Last updated 3/31/17

Number of Instagram advertisers:

2 million monthly advertisers

Last updated 9/25/17

Percentage of Facebook ad accounts that advertise on Instagram:

43%

Last updated 7/17/18

How many Instagram accounts can you have?

Users may have up to 5 Instagram accounts

Last updated 9/10/17

How many seconds can an Instagram video be?

Instagram videos can be between 2-60 seconds long

Last updated 9/10/17

How many people are you allowed to follow on Instagram?

Instagram limits the amount of people any user can follow to 7,500

Last updated 9/10/17

How many people can you group message on Instagram Direct?

up to 15 people

Last updated 9/10/17

Percentage of US millennials that use Instagram daily:

34%

Last updated 8/10/17

Percentage of US Internet users, aged 13-17 (teens) that use Instagram daily:

63%

Last updated 1/18/17

Percentage of Instagram users that have purchased a product they saw on it:

72%

Last updated 10/3/17

Percentage of global smartphone users that use Instagram:

25%

Last updated 12/14/17

Best Days to Post on Instagram for Engagement:

Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

Best time of the week to post on Instagram:

Tuesday at 2pm

Amount Facebook Paid for Instagram:

$715 million

Total Number of Instagram Employees at Time of Facebook Purchase:

Number of Instagram employees:

400

Last updated 11/14/16

Number of Languages Instagram supports natively:

Last updated 10/31/17

Percentage of Instagram users that log in at least once a day:

22%

Last updated 1/10/18

Percentage of users that check Instagram multiple times a day:

38%

Last updated 1/10/18

64% of college students consider Instagram the most narcissistic social media service.

Percentage of Facebook’s 2017 revenue that Instagram contributed:

10.6%

Average amount of time Instagram users spend in the Android app daily:

53 minutes per day

Last updated 6/25/18

Percentage of US adults that use Instagram:

35%

Last updated 4/16/18

Get the Full Report

The full version of this report is a digital collection of every Instagram statistic I have collected and curated over the past 7 years as of December 2018. 250 of them including stats on:

User Stats
Demographical Info
Brand Stats
Selfie Data
Video Stats
Mobile Stats
Revenue Totals
and more!

I try to go through each and every stat regularly and update as much as possible, but we all know that some stats are easier to track down regularly than others. As always, every stat is linked to its original source and has the source date listed.

To get your copy of this Instagram statistic report, click on the button below to purchase it.

or get it in one of my discounted themed report bundles:

Bundle 1: Facebook properties report bundle (Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp).

Bundle 2: Photo-sharing reports (Snapchat, Imgur, flickr and Instagram).

Bundle 3: Billion users club digital report bundle (Android, Apple, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, Whatsapp, YouTube).