Instagram surpasses 40M users, adds 10M in 10 days, according to API

Shortly after launching on Android and making headlines with its $1 billion acquisition by Facebook, the hot mobile photo sharing app Instagram has passed 40 million users, according to the ID count on Instagram’s API. That’s a 10 million user jump from just 10 days ago.

Rakshith Krishnappa, creator of Gramfeed, a site that lets you view Instagram photos on the web, tipped us off about the new milestone. Instagram hasn’t officially confirmed the 40 million user amount (we’ve asked for confirmation), but the number makes sense given that its Android app has already reached the 5 million to 10 million install range on Google Play and that the company has been in the news quite a bit lately.

It’s also worth noting that you can’t create an Instagram account without downloading the app and going through the setup process. There’s no web setup for Instagram, so for there to be more than 40 million users on its API, at least that many people needed to install the app (barring any accounts the company created for testing).

The new milestone hammers home why Facebook was so desperate to purchase Instagram. The photo sharing app may not have a legitimate revenue stream yet, but it has stumbled upon a secret to crazy fast growth. It proves that users are far more valuable than actual revenue. Having a boatload of new mobile users is important to Facebook, as the company pointed to mobile being one of its biggest problems leading up to its IPO.

Instagram photo of Union Square Park via Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat