You may have thought it had already happened, but today Facebook has finally purchased Instagram. The proposed $1 billion buyout was announced back in April, but the FTC just recently closed its investigation and gave Facebook the go-ahead to make the purchase.
Due to Facebook’s stock decline, the deal’s value is now estimated to be around $750 million instead of the original $1 billion. Facebook today reaffirms its promise to keep Instagram’s 80 million+ users happy by allowing the app to run independently.
Instagram announced the news today on its blog:
This is an exciting time for us – the community continues to grow and over 5 billion photos have now been shared through Instagram. We’re humbled that so many people around the world use Instagram to share their lives with friends through photos. From weddings to epic pilgrimages through the Spanish countryside, we’re constantly amazed by the stories that are shared on Instagram, and we thank you for being a part of this growing community.
What makes this even more exciting is that our deal with Facebook has closed, which means we can now work together to evolve and build a better Instagram for everyone. While our team is making the short move to the Facebook offices, Instagram isn’t going anywhere. The Instagram app and its features will stay the same one you know and love, and we’ll keep working together to build a better Instagram for everyone.
Many Instagram users were initially worried that Facebook would end up absorbing Instagram entirely into its own mobile apps. Facebook reassures that the Instagram we all know and love isn’t going anywhere… for now:
As we said from the beginning, we are committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Instagram will continue to serve its community, and we will help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure. We also can’t wait to work with the talented Instagram team to improve the mobile experience.
This is a great promise, but strategies can change. The fact is that Instagram’s future is now in the hands of Facebook. It will be interesting to see how Instagram evolves, or gets worse, in the months to come.
Via: The Verge
