Meta’s Instagram users reach 2 billion, closing in on Facebook

Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram now has 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, closing in on the 2.96 billion who use Facebook, in a sign of the social media giant’s shifting makeup.

The company disclosed the number during an otherwise-gloomy earnings report Wednesday, when a shaky ad market clouded Meta’s forecast and sent its shares tumbling. It also said that more than 2 billion people now use its messaging app, WhatsApp, every day. Meta’s total monthly users for its family of apps number 3.71 billion worldwide.

In June 2018, the company said Instagram surpassed 1 billion monthly active users. Since then, the app underwent one of the biggest transformations since it was acquired by Facebook — now called Meta — a decade ago. Instagram shifted away from exclusively showing posts from people users followed. Instead, it provided more algorithmically selected content based on what it thinks they’re interested in. The service also added TikTok-style short-form videos, called Reels, which have been prioritized over other video formats on the platform.