Instagram Now Has 3 Billion Monthly Active Users, Will Test Features To Help Users Control Their Feeds
Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users, marking one of the biggest milestones in the platform’s history. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram Head Adam Mosseri confirmed the news, while also hinting at upcoming features designed to give users more control over their feeds.
Image Credits:@laurenmartin_studio for Instagram
This surge reflects just how central Instagram has become to digital culture. Back in 2018, the app celebrated 1 billion monthly active users. Fast forward to 2025, and the audience has tripled — fueled by DMs, Reels, and algorithmic recommendations.
Growth Driven By Reels, DMs, And Recommendations
According to Mosseri, “almost all of our growth has been driven by DMs, Reels, and recommendations.” These products are now the backbone of Instagram’s expansion strategy.
Over the next few months, the app will continue shifting its design toward short-form video, private messaging, and AI-powered discovery tools. This focus has worked well for growth, but not every user is happy about it.
User Frustration With The Algorithm
As Instagram leaned more into Reels and recommended posts from accounts people don’t follow, some users expressed frustration. Many prefer seeing updates from friends, family, and creators they already know.
The changes have sparked debate over whether Instagram is prioritizing growth over user experience. With 3 billion users worldwide, balancing personalization and discovery is becoming a bigger challenge.
Instagram To Test Feed Control Features
To address these concerns, Instagram will soon test features that let users fine-tune the algorithm on Reels. This means people will be able to influence the type of content that shows up in their feeds.
If successful, these controls may expand beyond Reels to other areas of the platform. For users, this could mean a better balance between recommended videos and posts from accounts they actually follow.
Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users, but its next phase of growth depends on keeping people engaged — without alienating long-time users. Feed control tools could help strike that balance.
For Meta, this move signals an effort to adapt Instagram’s powerful algorithm to serve both user preferences and business growth. The coming months will show if these experiments can satisfy the app’s massive and diverse community.
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