Which image-sharing app did Facebook acquire for $1 billion in 2012?
Answer
The image-sharing app Facebook acquired for $1 billion in 2012 was Instagram.
Facebook announced the proposed acquisition on April 9, 2012. The deal was described as approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and Facebook shares, making it a strikingly large purchase for a young mobile-photo company. Instagram had been growing rapidly despite having a small team and no significant advertising business at the time.
Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and launched in October 2010. Its early appeal came from simple mobile photo sharing, square images, filters, and a focused social feed. Facebook said Instagram would continue to be managed independently, helping preserve its distinct identity while providing access to Facebook’s infrastructure.
The transaction officially closed on September 6, 2012. Because Facebook’s share price changed between the announcement and closing, the final value was lower than the headline figure often remembered. Pinterest, Flickr, and Snapchat were not the app involved in this landmark acquisition.