Instagram hits 300M monthly users, rolls out verified badges

Instagram 6.2 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 002)

Facebook-owned Instagram shared a new milestone today as the popular mobile photo-sharing service hit 300 million monthly users, making it bigger than Twitter which on October 27 had 284 million active users.

The figure is sharply up from 200 million active users Instagram had at the end of March, meaning the service has grown 50 percent in the past 9 months alone.

In announcing the milestone, Instagram also rolled out verified badges for celebrities, athletes and brands and cautioned it will be deactivating spammy accounts and deleting them forever.

“We’re committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web, and that’s why we’re finishing up some important work that began earlier this year,” noted the firm.

Spammy accounts are spoiling all the fun for us, regular Instagram users, and the issue gets accentuated as more people join the service. And with 300 million people logging in each month, keeping Instagram authentic is a top priority.

They have been deactivating spammy accounts from the service for some time now. Going forward, Instagram will be deleting these accounts forever.

I, for one, am delighted they’re fighting spammers as these accounts have been ticking me off by artificially boosting my follower count. “This means that some of you will see a change in your follower count,” notes the firm.

As for verified badges, these will start rolling out “over the coming days,” said Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom.

By the way, Instagram’s user base compares to LinkedIn’s 331 million user accounts and Facebook’s own 1.35 billion users. Facebook’s WhatsApp and Messenger have more than 300 and 600 million active users, respectively.

You can download Instagram for iPhone free in the App Store.

[Instagram]