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Instagram founders turn their backs on Facebook and walk away

September 25, 2018

The founders of Instagram plan to step down from parent company Facebook in the coming weeks.

The news: Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have resigned from their posts as CEO and CTO. The photo sharing app was founded by the pair in 2010 and bought by Facebook a mere two years later for $1 billion. In a statement on Monday, they said they were taking time off to explore their “curiosity and creativity” and start “building new things.”

However ... There have been reports of tension between the founders and Mark Zuckerberg, and their resignations come after a year when we’ve seen a stream of Facebook scandals.

The significance? It’s too early to say, but Facebook has form when it comes to losing founders of businesses it has bought. In April this year WhatsApp founder Jan Koum resigned, citing concerns over Facebook’s handling of user data. Instagram is seen as one of the company’s most successful acquisitions, so there is likely to be plenty of reflection on what these resignations really mean.

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