When Was Instagram Created? Instagram History

We all love Instagram today – but have you ever stopped to wonder when was Instagram created and how it all began? If you’re scrolling through your feed daily, you might not remember when Instagram first came out or who built it. Before IG took over the social media landscape, Facebook and Twitter ruled the scene – until a couple of Stanford grads changed the game.

In this article, we’ll walk through exactly when Instagram was invented, who its founders are, and how it grew from a two-person side project into a platform with billions of monthly users. Every date and figure below is checked against Meta’s own announcements and independent reporting from the time – not the vague “sometime around 2010” version you’ll find on a lot of recap pages.

Meet the Founders of Instagram

No story about when Instagram started is complete without its creators – Kevin Systrom (@kevin) and Mike Krieger (@mikeyk).

Kevin Systrom graduated from Stanford in 2006 with a degree in management science and engineering, and spent a summer interning at Odeo (the podcasting startup that would later pivot into Twitter) through Stanford’s Mayfield Fellows Program. From there he joined Google as a product marketer for about two years, working on products like Gmail and Google Calendar, before moving to the travel startup Nextstop.

While at Nextstop, Systrom built a side project called Burbn – a location check-in app with photo-sharing bolted on, in the spirit of Foursquare. He pitched it at a party, quit his job, and closed a $500,000 seed round from Baseline Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz in March 2010.

That’s when Mike Krieger, a fellow Stanford graduate (MS in Symbolic Systems) who’d spent over three years as a UI engineer at the messaging startup Meebo, joined as co-founder. Looking at how people were actually using Burbn, the two of them noticed one feature dominated everything else: photo-sharing. They stripped away the rest and rebuilt the app around it – and Instagram was born.

Together, Kevin and Mike ran Instagram for eight years – Systrom as CEO, Krieger as CTO – before both stepping down in 2018.

If you want to see how a platform this size keeps evolving today, our guide to Instagram analytics tools covers the tools creators now use to track exactly that.

When Was Instagram Created?

So, what year was Instagram created? Systrom started building the Burbn prototype in San Francisco in October 2009, but Instagram – the photo-sharing app as we know it – officially launched on October 6, 2010, released on Apple’s App Store for iPhone.

Before the public launch, the very first test photo went up on July 16, 2010: Systrom posted a shot of a stray dog next to a taco stand in Todos Santos, Mexico, captioned simply “test.” It’s still cited today as the first photo ever shared through what became Instagram.

The public reaction to the actual launch was immediate: Instagram picked up 25,000 users within its first 24 hours, and by December 2010 – about two months in – it had crossed 1 million registered users.

Since Instagram first came out, the platform has evolved dramatically. Today, it includes features such as:

1. Instagram Direct Messages for private chats (learn how to archive Instagram messages)
2. Instagram Stories, launched in August 2016, plus Highlights for pinning stories to your profile past the usual 24-hour window (see our Instagram Highlight Viewer guide)
3. Instagram Live and Reels, giving creators real-time and short-form video ways to connect

Curious how creators track that kind of reach and engagement today? Explore our Instagram analytics tools guide to see what’s worth using in 2026.

Who Is the Head of Instagram Now?

As of today, Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) serves as the Head of Instagram – a role he’s held since October 1, 2018, right after Systrom and Krieger stepped down. Mosseri joined Facebook back in 2008 and has been part of the Meta family for nearly two decades, previously running Facebook’s News Feed before moving over to lead Instagram’s product, engineering, and design.

He’s also known for keeping users updated on Instagram’s direction – from algorithm changes to feature rollouts like Reels – and he personally announced Instagram’s 3-billion-user milestone in September 2025.

Where Are the Founders Now?

Systrom and Krieger didn’t disappear after leaving Instagram. In April 2020, they launched Rt.live, a COVID-19 transmission tracker used by public health researchers early in the pandemic. In January 2023, the pair returned with Artifact, an AI-powered news app – which they shut down about a year later. Krieger has since moved on again: in May 2024, he joined Anthropic (the company behind Claude) as Chief Product Officer.

Frequently Asked Questions About When Instagram Was Founded

The advent of Instagram seems so long ago. There are questions about its origins. Here are the answers to some popular IG questions.

FAQ: What Year Did Instagram Become Popular?

Instagram officially launched in October 2010, and it took off almost instantly: 25,000 users in the first 24 hours, 1 million within two months. By June 2018 it had reached 1 billion monthly active users, and by September 2025 that number had climbed to 3 billion – proving that even a decade and a half later, it hasn’t lost momentum.

FAQ: Who Is Number 1 on Instagram?

As of 2026, Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) remains the most-followed person on Instagram, with more than 650 million followers – well ahead of second place. He’s held the top spot for years, and his following is built almost entirely on genuine engagement with his career and life, not any kind of shortcut.

FAQ: When Did Instagram Come Out for Everyone?

Instagram became publicly available on October 6, 2010, for iPhone users. The Android version followed on April 3, 2012 and was downloaded over 1 million times in its first day, opening the door to global adoption.

Since then, Instagram has continued to add features that support creators and businesses alike. If you’re building a presence on the app today, our guide on organic ways to grow on Instagram covers the methods that hold up in 2026, without shortcuts that put your account at risk.

Instagram Is Here. Let’s Make the Best of It! 

Reading about the people who built Instagram is a reminder of how innovation starts small but can grow into something monumental. Kevin and Mike took a simple idea – sharing photos online – and turned it into a cultural phenomenon used by billions.

If you’re building your own presence on the app today, start by understanding your audience through tools like our Instagram engagement rate calculator. From there, Hexrate is built as an end-to-end Instagram marketing platform: Pulse turns your data into a daily action plan, Discover helps you audit profiles and find real collaborators, AI Targeting puts your content in front of relevant accounts based on shared interests, Campaigns tracks hashtag and mention performance, and Reports & Media Kit packages it all into a shareable, white-label report.

Now that you know when Instagram was created – the real question is: when will you start building your own chapter of its story?