Instagram’s Android app was downloaded more than one million times in less than one day.
Instagram released its Android version on April 3, 2012, nearly eighteen months after the service first launched for iPhone. The Android release immediately opened Instagram to a much larger potential audience, since Android devices were already widespread across many markets.
The app passed one million downloads in under 24 hours, an unusually strong launch for a mobile application at the time. The response also demonstrated that demand for Instagram extended beyond Apple’s ecosystem. Before Android support, the service had built its audience almost entirely through iOS and had already reached tens of millions of users.
The timing was especially significant because Facebook announced its agreement to acquire Instagram for approximately $1 billion only six days after the Android launch. The download figure refers to installations or downloads, not one million new active users. It is also distinct from Instagram’s broader user milestones, such as reaching 30 million users by April 2012 and 50 million monthly active users later that month.