Instagram today announced that its popular social photography platform has reached 300 million users – Twitter has about 284 million, for comparison. According to the company, more than 70 million photos and videos are shared each day.
With so many users, there are bound to be some fake accounts, so today Instagram is introducing verified badges for celebrities, athletes and brands with tons of followers. The badges will roll out in the coming days.
On a support page, Instagram specifies that these badges are only available for accounts with a high likelihood of being impersonated – users can’t currently request verification. We wouldn’t be surprised, however, if Instagram followed Twitter’s progression and made this available in the future.
Finally, Instagram says its been working extra hard to deal with spam, so it will begin deleting delinquent accounts permanently. You may see a different follower count because of this, but the company says it will notify you if there’s a change due to a removed spammer.
The <3 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
➤ 300 Million: Sharing Real Moments [Instagram Blog]
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.