These Are the Most Popular Instagram Photos Ever
Instagram launched five years ago today, transforming the way the world takes and shares photos. Here’s a look back at the most popular photos ever posted to the service.
Less than 2 years later, Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in cash and stock. The service is now adding 100 million users every 10 months, and recent estimates peg the value of Instagram at around $35 billion.
Crazy, huh?
Of the 40+ billion photos shared on the service so far, a handful have earned the distinction of being the most popular shots ever shared. TIME published a list of the shots today. As you might expect, they’re almost all photos uploaded by celebrities with massive followings.
The 5 Most Popular of All Time
Here are the 5 most popular Instagram photos of all time:
#1. This portrait of Kendall Jenner posted by Kendall Jenner:
#2: Taylor Swift posted a photo of herself with flowers:
#3: A photo by Taylor Swift showing her and her boyfriend:
#4: Kim Kardashian posted this photo of her and Kanye West getting married:
#5: Kylie Jenner announces she graduated high school:
The Most Popular Instagram Photos By Year
Here’s a look at which photos were most popular in each of the past 5 years of Instagram’s young life:
2010: Instagram founder Kevin Systrom shot this photo of his foot and a dog:
Here’s Systrom telling the story of the shot:
Update on 12/16/21: This video embed has been removed by its owner. You can still watch it here.
2011: Justin Bieber with his dad and siblings:
2012: One Direction singers Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson with Halloween makeup:
2013: Justin Bieber posing with actor Will Smith:
2014: This one again:
2015: This one again:
So there you have it: these are the Instagram photos that have made the biggest splash on the photo sharing social network over the past 5 years. With the way the community has been growing, we’re guessing a new photo will take the popularity crown in the very near future.