Alex Webb, Columnist

Facebook Posts an Ugly Snapshot of Instagram’s Future

Mark Zuckerberg wants more ads on the photo-sharing platform, but that might push users away.

September 25, 2018 at 10:45 AM UTC

Alex Webb is a correspondent for Bloomberg Quicktake. He previously covered the technology, telecoms and media industries in London, San Francisco and Munich.

Dear Generation Z, your Instagram is about to be filled with crappy ads.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

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Mark Zuckerberg is starting to suck Facebook Inc.’s eponymous product dry as far as rapid growth is concerned. Next target: Instagram.

That might explain the departure of Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Six years after Zuckerberg acquired their then 13-person startup for $715 million, the photo-sharing app has become Facebook’s most important source of growth. Zuckerberg has subsequently assumed a more hands-on role, which became a source of tension, according to my Bloomberg News colleague Sarah Frier.