Instagram Confirms that Ads Will Soon be Showing Up in US Users’ Feeds

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We knew that it was only a matter of time before Instagram bit the bullet and started adding advertisements to the app, and now the news is official. The Facebook-owned company itself has confirmed that ads will indeed be showing up in US users’ feeds “in the next couple of months.”

The news comes as no real surprise, and only after other business moves made it clear that Instagram had emerged from the awkward, adolescent, startup phase into full-blown-company mode. It’s time, according to the Instagram blog, to “build Instagram into a sustainable business,” and that means advertising.

Here’s an excerpt from the announcement:

In the next couple months, you may begin seeing an occasional ad in your Instagram feed if you’re in the United States. Seeing photos and videos from brands you don’t follow will be new, so we’ll start slow. We’ll focus on delivering a small number of beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already great members of the Instagram community.

Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as the photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands. After all, our team doesn’t just build Instagram, we use it each and every day. We want these ads to be enjoyable and creative in much the same way you see engaging, high-quality ads when you flip through your favorite magazine.

The bright side here — and we’re talking to the people who like Instagram, not those hoping this will mean its downfall — is that you will have some control over what ads you do and don’t see. If you don’t like an ad, Instagram will allow you to hide it and give feedback about “what didn’t feel right.”

The company is also quick to note that this does NOT affect your ownership of your own photos or videos… which, on some level, translates into: “please don’t react like you did over the Privacy Policy debacle.” For more details head over to the Instagram blog.

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