Instagram crosses 300 million users, edges past Twitter

Reuters
A screen displays the Instagram logo during a presentation by co-founder Kevin Systrom as he announces the launch of a new direct image messaging service named Instagram Direct in New York December 12, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc's photo-sharing service, Instagram, said it had more than 300 million users, sharing over 70 million photos and videos each day. Microblogging service Twitter Inc has 284 million active users, according to its website. (http://bit.ly/1mjyzhm) Four-year-old Instagram crossed 200 million users in March. The service, bought by Facebook in April 2012, also said in a blog that users would now see a "verified" badge for celebrities, athletes and brands as Instagram pushes to deactivate spam accounts. (http://bit.ly/1ByIxTz) Instagram also said on Wednesday it will permanently delete spam accounts, which may cause a drop in some users' follower counts. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)