Adam Mosseri, a veteran 10-year Facebook executive, will become the new head of Instagram, outgoing co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced Monday.
“We are thrilled to hand over the reins to a product leader with a strong design background and a focus on craft and simplicity,” Systrom and Krieger said in a press release.The pair announced their resignation last week without giving a clear explanation.
Mosseri, 35, has been Instagram’s head of product since May. He began as a designer at Facebook in 2008, and recently ran its News Feed. His appointment comes among fears that with the departure of Instagram’s independent-minded founders, the app will become more like Facebook: Cluttered with features, and invasive of user’s personal data.
Instagram was founded in 2010 and bought by Facebook two years later for $1 billion. While Facebook has struggled to hold onto younger users, Instagram remains popular with teens. It has also remained scandal-free, while Facebook has taken heat for numerous scandals including the spread of fake news, alleged exploitation of user data with third parties, electoral interference, and its use as a platform for radical leaders to spread propaganda in developing countries.
…