Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Instagram now has 3 billion monthly users. This is the first time Meta has updated Instagram’s user count since 2022, when the app was reported at 2 billion monthly active users. 

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, confirmed the milestone in a video post. He said much of the growth has come from private messaging, short-form video, and algorithmic recommendations. According to Mosseri, Instagram will continue to “reorient the app more around DMs, Reels, and recommendations” over the coming months.

Reels drives Instagram’s growth

Short-form video has become the central battleground for attention. Instagram Reels now account for more than 50% of the time people spend on Instagram, a sharp rise from just over 20% in 2022. This shift shows how much TikTok-style content has changed user behavior.

With Reels growing, the company plans to put even more emphasis on this product. Meta is reportedly considering making Reels a separate app. IF this happen, Reels will become one of Meta’s core products rather than just a feature within Instagram.

The company is has also been testing new tools to increase engagement with short-form video. One example is “Trial Reels,” which lets creators test videos with random users before deciding whether to publish them broadly. Meta is also running a test that will make Reels the default experience for users in India and South Korea starting in October, Bloomberg reported. Since TikTok is banned in India, Instagram is positioning itself to capture that audience.

New experiments with the algorithm

As part of the announcement, Instagram is also introducing more options for how content is surfaced. Mosseri confirmed that users will soon be able to select or hide topics to shape their recommendations. The company previously began experimenting with “Picks,” a feature that highlights overlapping interests such as music, TV shows, or books between friends.

Search and discovery shifts

Instagram’s role in discovery is also expanding. Public content from professional accounts is now being indexed by search engines like Google and Bing. That means brand content may increasingly appear outside the app.

Earlier this year, Instagram also tested AI-powered search in comments, using Meta AI to surface more information during discussions. These changes suggest Instagram is not only competing with video apps but also experimenting with how users find and interact with content across the web.

Instagram has grown into Meta’s most important revenue engine. Reports suggest it will contribute more than 50% of Meta’s U.S. ad revenue this year, overtaking Facebook as the primary source of growth. 

However, its future is not without uncertainty. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has argued that Meta holds an illegal monopoly in social media. A court ruling later this year or in early 2026 could determine whether Meta will be forced to spin off Instagram.

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