Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that Instagram has crossed 3 billion monthly active users, joining Facebook and WhatsApp in surpassing the milestone. The announcement underscores the strength of Meta’s family of apps, which collectively serve 3.48 billion daily active users worldwide.
The company last disclosed Instagram’s user figures in October 2022, when Zuckerberg said during an earnings call that the app had crossed 2 billion monthly users. In April 2024, CNBC announced Meta would no longer break out monthly or daily active user numbers for its individual apps each quarter, instead reporting “daily active people” across its suite of apps.
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“This is going to be a really big year,” Zuckerberg told investors during Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “More than usual, it feels like the trajectory for most of our long-term initiatives is going to be a lot clearer by the end of this year.” He called the achievement a defining moment for the platform Meta acquired in 2012 for $1 billion.
He highlighted Instagram’s growth drivers, particularly private messaging and Reels, while noting that Meta is testing new ways to make these features more prominent on the platform. According to Bloomberg, the company is experimenting with opening Instagram directly to Reels in places like India and South Korea to capitalise on TikTok’s absence in the Indian market.
The milestone also comes as Meta pushes forward with major investments in artificial intelligence and wearable technology. Zuckerberg said Meta AI, the company’s virtual assistant, is on track to reach more than 1 billion people this year. “Meta AI is already used by more people than any other assistant, and once a service reaches that kind of scale, it usually develops a durable long-term advantage,” he said.
A key part of that vision is Meta’s partnership with Ray-Ban. The company’s smart glasses, updated in 2024 with Meta AI integration, have proven popular with consumers. “Our Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses are a real hit,” Zuckerberg said.
“This will be the year when we understand the trajectory for AI glasses as a category. Many breakout products in the history of consumer electronics have sold 5 to 10 million units in their third generation,” he added. “This will be a defining year that determines if we’re on a path towards many hundreds of millions and eventually billions of AI glasses.”
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Meanwhile, Threads – Meta’s X rival – continues to grow, with more than 320 million monthly active users and more than one million sign-ups daily. Zuckerberg reaffirmed his belief that Threads is on track to eventually reach one billion people.
“We’re going to build some awesome things that shape the future of human connection,” he said. “Between AI, glasses, massive infrastructure projects, and building the future of social media, we have a lot to do. But I think this is the most exciting and dynamic I have ever seen in our industry.”
