If you’re scrolling through Reels or checking your favorite influencer’s Story, you’ve probably never stopped to ask: where did this thing actually come from? Honestly, it feels like it’s just always been there. But there was a specific moment when the digital world shifted. Instagram was officially created in 2010.
Specifically, the app launched on October 6, 2010.
It didn't look anything like the video-heavy, shop-til-you-drop platform we have today. Back then, it was just a simple way to make your crappy iPhone 4 photos look like they were taken with a vintage Leica.
The "Burbn" Identity: Before Instagram Was Instagram
Believe it or not, the app wasn't even supposed to be about photos.
Kevin Systrom, a Stanford grad who’d spent time at Google, was obsessed with two things: coding and fine whiskey. He built a prototype called Burbn. It was a messy, location-based check-in app. Think Foursquare, but more complicated. You could check in at bars, earn points, and—oh yeah—post a photo of your drink.
The app was a disaster. It was too cluttered. Too many buttons.
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Systrom and his co-founder, Mike Krieger, noticed something weird, though. People weren't really using the "check-in" features. They were obsessed with the photo-sharing part.
So they did what every smart Silicon Valley founder does. They pivoted. Hard. They stripped away everything except the photos, the likes, and the comments. They spent eight weeks building a new version. They called it Instagram, a mashup of "instant camera" and "telegram."
Launch Day: 25,000 People in 24 Hours
When Instagram hit the Apple App Store in late 2010, the response was basically a digital riot.
Within the first 24 hours, 25,000 users signed up. Systrom and Krieger were working out of a tiny, shared office in San Francisco, and they literally thought their servers were going to melt.
- 1 million users: Reached by December 2010 (just two months in).
- 10 million users: Reached by September 2011.
It took years for platforms like Twitter or Pinterest to hit those kinds of numbers. Instagram did it because it solved a specific problem. Mobile cameras were getting better, but the photos still looked kind of "blah." The filters—X-Pro II, Earlybird, Valencia—made everyone look like a professional photographer.
It was the first time an app felt "native" to the phone. You didn't need a desktop. You just snapped, filtered, and posted.
The $1 Billion Bet That Everyone Thought Was Crazy
By early 2012, Instagram was a behemoth, but it was only on iOS. On April 3, 2012, they finally released the Android version. It was downloaded over a million times in less than a day.
Then, everything changed.
On April 9, 2012, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was buying Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock.
At the time, the world thought Zuck had lost his mind. Instagram had only 13 employees. They had zero revenue. No business model. Just a bunch of hipsters taking photos of their avocado toast. People called it a "bubble."
Looking back, it was probably the smartest acquisition in the history of the internet. Facebook (now Meta) saw that young people were moving away from status updates and toward visual storytelling. They bought the competition before the competition could kill them.
Key Milestones Since the 2010 Creation
It’s wild to look at how much the app has mutated since its birth.
In 2013, they added video sharing. People hated it at first. They said it would ruin the "vibe" of the app. In 2016, they "borrowed" the Stories format from Snapchat. It was a massive success that basically neutralized Snapchat’s growth.
Then came the move to the "Feed" algorithm. No more chronological posts. This was the moment Instagram stopped being a chronological diary and started being a curated magazine.
By 2020, they launched Reels to fight off TikTok. Today, the app has over 2 billion monthly active users. That’s a long way from a whiskey-themed check-in app for San Francisco techies.
Why 2010 Matters for You Now
Knowing that Instagram started in 2010 isn't just trivia. It helps you understand why the app feels the way it does. It was built for the mobile-first era.
If you're trying to grow a brand or just stay relevant on the platform, remember its roots. It was built for immediacy and aesthetic. Even with all the new features, the accounts that do best are the ones that lean into that original "instant" feeling.
Actionable Takeaways for Modern Users
- Audit your "Grid": The 2010-era "perfect" grid is mostly dead. People want authenticity now. Mix high-quality shots with "photo dumps" to feel more human.
- Embrace the Pivot: Just like the founders ditched Burbn for something better, don't be afraid to change your content strategy if the data shows people aren't engaging with your current style.
- Focus on Video: Whether we like it or not, the 2010 photo app is now a 2026 video platform. Use Reels to reach people who don't follow you yet.
- Check Your History: Go to your own profile, tap the "Archive" icon, and look at your oldest posts. It’s a hilarious (and cringey) reminder of how far the platform—and your photography skills—have come.
Instagram wasn't a stroke of luck. It was a result of two guys realizing that people wanted to show, not just tell. Even sixteen years later, that core truth hasn't changed.