Instagram co-founders leaving Facebook

There's some big Instagram news this week, but it doesn't involve the app's timeline or other features.

Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have announced that they're leaving Facebook. "We're planning on leaving Instagram to explore our curiosity and creativity again," System explained in a blog post. "Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that's what we plan to do."

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement that Systrom and Krieger "are extraordinary product leaders and Instagram reflects their combined creative talents." Facebook acquired Instagram for $1 billion in 2012.

There's no official word on exactly what caused Systrom and Krieger to depart Facebook now, but a report from Bloomberg claims that the two recently became "frustrated with an uptick in day-to-day involvement by Zuckerberg, who has become more reliant on Instagram in planning for Facebook's future". 

It's said that up until now, Systrom and Krieger had been able to keep Instagram's brand and product independent from Facebook while still utilizing Facebook's resources to help Instagram grow. With Instagram's co-founders gone and Zuckerberg becoming more involved in the day-to-day operations of Instagram, it'll be interesting to see how the app evolves from here.

Instagram co-founders leaving Facebook originally posted at http://phonedog.com