When Was Instagram Created? Full Founding Timeline

Key takeaways

• Instagram was created and released on October 6, 2010, as a free iOS app.
• Co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger built it in San Francisco, cutting down an earlier app called Burbn.
• It attracted 25,000 users on launch day and passed 1 million users within roughly two months.
• Facebook bought Instagram in April 2012 for about $1 billion, the same month the Android app finally shipped.
• Instagram has stayed a distinct app and brand under Meta ever since, adding Stories, Reels, and Shopping over the years.

When was Instagram actually created?

Instagram's public creation date is October 6, 2010, when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger released it on Apple's App Store. The idea had been in development for months before that under the name Burbn, a location check-in app that tried to combine gaming, planning, and photo sharing — the founders eventually cut everything down to just the photo feature, since that's what early testers used most.

Who created it and where?

Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger created Instagram together in San Francisco, working out of a small office as a two-person startup before hiring additional engineers. For more on the people behind the company, see who created Instagram and who made Instagram, which cover their backgrounds and how the partnership formed.

Why did the app change from Burbn to Instagram?

Burbn was overloaded with features — check-ins, planning tools, and photo sharing all in one — and users mostly ignored everything except the photos. Systrom and Krieger responded by stripping the app down to a fast camera, filters, and a feed, then renamed it Instagram before the public launch. That decision to simplify is widely credited as the reason the app grew as quickly as it did after release.

How quickly did Instagram grow after creation?

Growth was immediate: 25,000 downloads on the first day alone, and more than 1 million registered users within about two months. That trajectory is part of why how much is Instagram worth today traces back to such a small original team — rapid early adoption gave the app leverage well before it had any ad revenue.

When did Facebook take over, and does that change the creation story?

Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for close to $1 billion in cash and stock, but that's an ownership change, not a re-creation — the app, its design, and its original team stayed largely intact after the deal. Details on how that changed control of the platform are covered in does Meta own Instagram and who owns Instagram.

Instagram creation timeline

How old is Instagram since its creation?

Measuring from the October 6, 2010 launch, Instagram is over 15 years old as of 2026. For a deeper year-by-year look at how it evolved from a simple photo app into today's platform, see how old is Instagram and when did Instagram come out, which walks through the exact release-day details.

In short, Instagram's creation is a compact story: two founders, one simplified app, and a launch date — October 6, 2010 — that still anchors every "how old is Instagram" conversation today.