Ads may start peppering the feed of popular photo and video sharing platform Instagram as soon as next year, the social app’s business director has revealed.
Emily White, who joined Instagram from Facebook following the social network’s $1bn purchase of Instagram last year, told The Wall Street Journal Instagram should be ready to start selling ads within the next year.
“We want to make money in the long term, but we don’t have any short-term pressure,” White told the publication here.
Since launch in 2010 Instagram has steadily grown in popularity stakes, recently exceeding 150 million users.
While many brands have created a presence on Instagram, the platform has remained ad free over its three years with no formal ad space up for grabs.
However it has previously flirted with advertisers. Late last year Instagram changed the wording of its terms and services that implied it could sell user’s photos to advertisers.
The update read: "Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you."
The backlash was quick and ferocious, forcing Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom to apologise and revert the wording of its terms of use advertising section to the original.
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