Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the co-founders of the widely popular social media application Instagram, announced their resignation from parent company Facebook, effective within a couple of weeks from their announcement on Monday, September 25, 2018. Systrom reflected on the eight-year journey of Instagram, expressing pride and gratitude for building simple products that solved universal problems, and thanked the community as they moved on to their next chapter. While the duo stated they were ready for a "next chapter," they did not publicly disclose the specific reasons for their departure.

Instagram, launched in 2010, quickly gained traction and became a significant player in the social media landscape. Recognizing its potential as a long-term threat, Mark Zuckerberg acquired Instagram for a substantial $1 billion in 2012. Under Facebook's ownership, Instagram's user base continued to swell, reaching over 1 billion users by 2018. A crucial factor in Instagram's remarkable growth was its operational independence from Facebook, with Systrom serving as Instagram's Chief Executive and Krieger as Chief Technical Officer after the acquisition.

This independence proved beneficial, shielding Instagram from some of the controversies that plagued its parent company. Notably, Instagram managed to largely avoid the "fake news" phenomenon prevalent on Facebook and was not implicated in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The perception that Instagram's user data was not being extensively shared with Facebook also contributed significantly to its user trust and respect, allowing it to maintain a distinct identity within the Facebook ecosystem.

However, sources close to the situation, including Bloomberg, indicated that the founders' decision to leave stemmed from growing frustration with Mark Zuckerberg's increasing day-to-day involvement in Instagram's operations. This involvement was perceived as a gradual erosion of Instagram's autonomy, leading to disagreements over the direction and integration of the app.

Prior to their departure, Zuckerberg had already begun to assert greater influence over Instagram. Fearing competition, particularly from Snapchat, Instagram had started to copy many of its competitor's features, most prominently "Instagram Story," which had amassed over 400 million users. Furthermore, Zuckerberg reportedly pushed for more sharing from Instagram back to Facebook in the previous year, aimed at increasing engagement on the main Facebook platform. These actions, while not yet resulting in negative user reactions, were slowly chipping away at Instagram's independent operational model.

With Systrom and Krieger's exit, there is heightened concern about the future trajectory of Instagram. Experts anticipate further integration with Facebook, which could potentially draw Instagram into the same corporate and ethical dilemmas its parent company frequently faces. While users had generally responded positively to new Instagram features introduced under Facebook's increasing influence, the overarching worry remains that Instagram could lose the distinct qualities and user trust it cultivated through its initial independence.