In what year was Instagram launched?

Instagram was launched in 2010. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger officially released the iOS app through Apple's App Store on October 6, 2010.

The service began under a different name: Burbn. Systrom originally built it as a mobile check-in application, but he and Krieger realized that its many features made it too similar to Foursquare. They narrowed the product around photo-sharing, which users were already enjoying, and renamed it Instagram—a blend of “instant camera” and “telegram.”

Instagram's first post predates its public release. On July 16, 2010, Krieger uploaded a photograph of South Beach Harbor at San Francisco's Pier 38. After launching, the app grew quickly and attracted its first million registered users within roughly two months.

A frequent mix-up involves 2012, when Instagram expanded to Android and was acquired by Facebook. That year was a major milestone, but it was not the launch year. Instagram began as an iPhone-focused photo-sharing app, and the Android version arrived on April 3, 2012. The company later expanded into video, Stories, Reels, messaging, and shopping, far beyond its original photography-centered identity.