Instagram had a steady-as-she goes sort of year. We saw stable growth, but no huge changes or updates.
Adopting a "if-it-ain't-broke" approach, Instagram's biggest news was probably the controversy over its new logo.
Love it or loathe it, the rebranding didn't affect Instagram's army of users.
Easy does it
Instagram passed a milestone in 2016, with 500 million users. The platform has 300 million daily users (almost three times more than Snapchat), while 80% of these users are outside the US.
More than any other platform, Instagram has taken a leisurely approach to rolling out advertising. Being owned by Facebook helps.
This year Instagram finally rolled out new advertising options and Business Profiles for brands. Don't expect many more updates for marketers in 2017, but the trade-off could be greater engagement and conversions.
Snap it up
Instagram Stories is pretty much a rip of Snapchat's favourite features, but that didn't seem to bother users much. A few months after launch, Stories now has 100 million users.
Taking another leaf out of Snapchat's playbook, Instagram also got disappearing stories and live streaming.
So what's next for Instagram? Watch what's happening over on Snapchat.
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