The founders of Instagram announced in a surprise move Monday that they were leaving Facebook Inc.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger said they were "ready for their next chapter" and said they were grateful for the six years they spent at Facebook, which acquired the photo sharing app for $1 billion.
"We're planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again," Systrom, Instagram's chief executive, said in a statement. "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."
There were growing tensions between Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram's founders about the direction of the app, Bloomberg reported.
Their departures mark the latest crisis for Facebook, which has spent the last two years weathering controversies over fake news, foreign meddling and misappropriation of user data.
Instagram was founded eight years ago and has become one of Facebook's most successful products. The app, which has a billion users, has flourished while Facebook's namesake site has seen its growth taper.
