Instagram was originally called Burbn before becoming a photo-sharing app.
Kevin Systrom initially developed Burbn as a location-based mobile check-in service. The early product included several features, such as check-ins, plans and photo sharing, but Systrom and Mike Krieger decided that photo sharing was the strongest and simplest idea.
They removed most of Burbn’s features and rebuilt the service around posting photographs with filters. The streamlined product launched as Instagram in October 2010 and quickly attracted users on Apple’s iPhone.
Burbn is sometimes mistaken for an early Instagram feature or a separate company. It was the prototype and original name of the service that evolved into Instagram, which Facebook acquired in 2012.