A most popular Instagram page is displayed on a mobile device screen in Pasadena, California August 14, 2013. Researchers with RSA security have learned that Zbot, one of the world's biggest botnets is creating fake Instagram accounts and selling bundled followers and "likes" at rates that are much higher than what it charges for credit card numbers.© Mario Anzuoni / Reuters/Reuters
Instagram, the photo-sharing mobile application, now has more users than Twitter Inc., and will improve the quality of its service by deleting fake accounts.
Instagram, owned by Menlo Park, California-based Facebook Inc., said today that its monthly active users rose to 300 million this month from 200 million in March, not counting spammers. That exceeds the 284 million users Twitter said it had in October. Instagram said it will also begin to verify public figures as well as brands.
It's been about a year since Instagram started making advertising available. Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has been focused on increasing the number of users of the company's separate mobile apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, before implementing new ways to drive revenue.
"Instagram is adding an average of 360k new active users per day; For comparison Twitter is adding 160k new users per day," Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Robert W Baird & Co., said today in a tweet.
When accounts for public figures on Instagram are verified, they will now receive a badge for their authenticity, much like how they do on Twitter and Facebook.
"We're committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the Web," Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram, said in a statement today.
Instagram said that on average its users share 70 million photos per day. About 70 per cent of users are now outside the U.S., an increase from 65 per cent in March, according to the statement. More than 30 billion photos have now been shared on the app.