15 years of Instagram - but what's changed?

Close-up of a smartphone screen displaying Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook app icons, highlighting popular social media and messaging platforms — Image caption,
Instagram is 15 years old

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app, where users can upload photos and videos to friends, family and members of the public.

The name is a combination of 'instant camera' and 'telegram'. Officially launched in 2010, it was initially only available for iOS. Over 25,000 users signed up on its first day.

Now there are roughly 2 billion global users and 35 millions users in the UK. It’s one of the most popular social media platforms out there, just behind Facebook and YouTube.

For the last 15 years, Instagram has been on our timeline. Can you remember every chapter in its story?

Do you remember the old Instagram logo?

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Then
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Now

Instagram's launch logo featured a vintage Polaroid-type, instant camera, but it was swiftly changed that same year. Staying with the retro vibe of the camera, it was made to fit a square icon space. In 2016, the logo changed again to a more simplified, colourful and vibrant version.

Instagram timeline

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In 2012, Facebook (now Meta) bought Instagram for $1 billion.
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In June 2013, the app introduced the function to upload short video clips, as well as photos.
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In December 2013 they launched Instagram Direct, a messaging feature.
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In August 2016, Stories were launched that allowed users to share photos and videos that would disappear after 24 hours.
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In 2018, Instagram introduced IGTV which is an acronym for Instagram Television, a separate app to upload longer videos over 60 seconds. This ended in 2022, with the focus of keeping all video content on the Instagram app.
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In 2020, reels were launched, which at the time had a limit of only being 30 seconds long, now in 2025 it is up to 20 minutes long.
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In 2025, the app launched new features such as reposting and a location with friends map, as well as a tab to see what friends have liked, commented on and reposted.

Published in October 2025