Half of all Instagram users now on Android

Only a year after launching, Android app has already caught up to iOS

It was exactly one year ago today, on April 4, 2012, that Instagram finally launched its much-anticipated app on Android. While that decision was an instant success, with the app seeing one million downloads in its first 24 hours, whether or not the app would be able to keep up the pace was, of course, not a given.

But the app has kept up. In fact, it has done so fairly remarkably.

To celebrate the one year anniversary, Instagram shared Wednesday that "now nearly half of all Instagrammers use the Android app to share photos with friends, family and the world."

In February, Instagram said that it had reached 100 million monthly users. By extension, that might mean that there are 50 million users on Android. (This may not be the case however, since Instagram might be talking about total number of apps downloaded, not monthly users. Vator reached out to Instagram and to Facebook for clarification, and we will update if we learn more.)

"Instagram for Android has helped make this community more global than ever," Philip McAllister, a member of Instagram’s Android Team, wrote, citing major events like Brazil’s Círio de Nazaré festival, the 85th birthday of Thailand’s King Bhumibol, and a streak of severe thunderstorms throughout Malaysia that were captured by Android users.

"We’ve also seen Android Instagrammers contribute to the community in innovative and powerful ways, including @daveedgamboa’s incredible jumpstagrams around Southern California, photos of England’s beautiful Lancashire county from @adamgrayson and even a glimpse into the life of Kenya’s nomads from @grantsmind."

Instagram was an immediate hit when it launched in September 2010, with its iPhone app reaching one million users in just two months.

The app grew steadily from there, reaching 15 million users by December 2011. That number was nearly doubled by March of 2012, when it hit 27 million. Then, after being purchased by Facebook for $1 billion in April, the app simply exploded, gaining 10 million new users in just 10 days, bringing its total to 40 million. In October, the Instagram Android app hit 50 million downloads alone.

In December, Instagram updated both its iOS and Android apps with new filter called Mayfair, which it said  “has a warm pink tone, subtle vignetting that brightens the center of the photograph, and a thin black border."

The Android app was also given a new update for brands, which will allow Facebook Page moderators to connect and share directly to a brand page.

Considering that Instagram spent a year and a half available exclusively on iOS, and that the Android app has matched those numbers in one year, don't be surprised if the next time we get an update, Android actually has more Instragram users than iOS.

(Image source: https://blog.instagram.com)