The founders of Instagram are leaving Facebook after growing tensions with Facebook top brass over the direction of the photo-sharing app, people familiar with the matter said.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, have been at the company since Instagram’s acquisition by Facebook in 2012. They confirmed their departure in a blog post, although Facebook didn’t immediately have a comment on the tension.
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However, there have been reports over their growing frustration with an unusual uptick in day-to-day involvement by Zuckerberg, who is now more reliant on Instagram for Facebook’s future growth. The New York Times had earlier reported Systrom and Krieger’s departure.
The two built Instagram and sold it to Facebook for $1 billion six years ago. Instagram, which now has more than one billion users, is a key driver of revenue for Facebook.
“We’re planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again,” Systrom who is also the CEO said in a statement on the Instagram blog. “Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that’s what we plan to do.”
While Facebook has endured scandals on privacy, fake news and election interference, Instagram’s brand has remained mostly untarnished, and continued to grow past 1 billion monthly users globally. Facebook, which is running out of people in the world to add to its product, has become increasingly reliant on the photo-sharing app for its future.
“We remain excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook in the coming years as we transition from leaders to two users in a billion. We look forward to watching what these innovative and extraordinary companies do next,” he added.