Sorry, Instagram junkies, you’ll have to wade through a few advertisements to review your next “selfie.” Instagram announced on Thursday that it will begin advertising through its massively popular photo-and video-sharing app. Last year, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for one billion dollars and has seen its audience grow to a staggering 150 million users.
But it’s never made a dime.
“We have big ideas for the future, and part of making them happen is building Instagram into a sustainable business,” explained a posting on . Advertisements will begin in a few months and include only a select group of firms. Instagram founder told early this year that Instagram must “fund its own future.”
For those concerned with ownership of their photos and videos, its users that “as always, you own your own photos and videos. The introduction of advertising won’t change this.”
The move by Instagram is certainly not a surprise amidst a colossal social media boom. that “advertisers will spend $9.5bn on social network ads worldwide this year.”