Instagram is an amazing startup. The company was founded by two people and eventually grew to little more than ten people. Even though millions of people from all around the world signed up to use the app, Instagram never generated any revenue – not a single penny. Yet, the company was just purchased by Facebook for more than $1 billion dollars.

One billions dollars for any company is a lot of money. One billion dollars for a company that doesn’t actually earn a cent is especially a lot of dough. So what’s Facebook playing at and why is the social network interested in what Instagram has to offer? Even more importantly, what will Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram mean to all those who use and love Instagram daily? Facebook has been tight-lipped about the acquisition and the founders of Instagram aren’t saying much either, but it will certainly be interesting to see what happens to both the app and the social network following this acquisition news.

What Buying Instagram Means for You

If you’re like me (and millions of others around the world) you’re largely addicted to Instagram. It’s hard not to snap hundreds of photos and share those photos with followers when you have such quick and easy access to many filters and an all-around awesome program. At first, Instagram was just available to iOS users. Then, Instagram was suddenly available to Android users (albeit slightly limited), and now Instagram is part of Facebook.

If you’re familiar with Facebook (and any of the social network’s other acquisitions), you probably know that Facebook tends to change any startup that the company purchases. The obvious question now is: how will Facebook change the much-loved Instagram app? Well, there are all kinds of ways that Facebook could alter Instagram, as it currently exists. Some of those ways include bringing the app to the web, forcing users to sign in with Facebook accounts, and, possibly, tearing up the team that makes Instagram so great. Hopefully, none of these things will occur.

A Good Move for Facebook

Even though the future of Instagram is uncertain for app users, Facebook’s decision to purchase the popular company was a good one. Facebook will be going public very soon and investors would love to see that the social network has future revenue plans. Of course, this also means that Facebook will have to change Instagram in order to generate revenue (as mentioned, Instagram doesn’t earn a cent right now), but from an investor standpoint, purchasing Instagram makes sense.

Those who have been using Instagram for a while now are adjusting to new changes, and those who have just started using Instagram will have to adjust to changes as well, it seems. There’s no telling what Facebook might do with the newly purchased Instagram, but all eyes will be on both the app and the social network throughout the coming weeks. As much as millions of Instagram users don’t want the app to change, it doesn’t look like Facebook will be able to get its money’s worth without making some revenue-generating adjustments.