A decade ago, social media giant Facebook acquired a young startup called Instagram for the then-mind-blowing sum of $1 billion—a record price for acquiring an app and far more than Facebook had ever spent on an acquisition. Some critics mocked Facebook’s sanity. At the time, Instagram had zero revenue, only 30 million users, and no idea about how it would make money. But Facebook saw big potential in the fledgling company.

How does Instagram provide value to users, advertisers, and Meta Platforms, Inc. in a way that keeps each of them happy?