Close a sign of the social media giant's changing nature, Meta's Instagram now has 2 billion monthly active users globally, edging in on the 2.96 billion who use Facebook. The figure was revealed during an otherwise bleak earnings release on Wednesday when a fragile ad market muddled Meta's projections and drove its stock plunging.

It also stated that more than 2 billion people use its messaging program, WhatsApp, daily. Meta has 3.71 billion monthly users globally throughout its collection of applications.

Instagram exceeded 1 billion monthly active users in June 2018

Instagram announced in June 2018 that it has exceeded 1 billion monthly active users. Since then, the app has undergone one of the most significant changes since it was purchased by Facebook a decade ago and is now known as Meta.

Instagram changed its policy of only showing posts from individual users followed. Instead, it served up more algorithmically picked information based on what it thought users may be interested in. Reels, which are TikTok-style short-form videos, have been prioritized above other video formats on the app.

Meta made those modifications to keep Instagram relevant

Meta made those modifications to keep Instagram relevant in a competitive social media business. ByteDance's TikTok has risen to prominence in recent years with its popular topics-focused video stream. On TikTok, videos are algorithmically distributed to those who are interested in a specific subject, rather than only those who follow the originator of a post.

It is critical for Meta that its social media channels continue to entice people to return and spend time on Facebook and Instagram. The majority of the company's revenue comes from adverts posted on such sites. Marketers have recently been spending less on digital advertisements due to uncertain economic conditions, leaving Meta and its competitors vying for fewer bucks.