Instagram just put ads in one of its last ad-free places

We knew this day would come.

On Tuesday, Instagram announced that it will begin using the Explore tab as a way to show ads to users. The ads won't show up in the main grid. Instead, once a user clicks on a post from Explore, Instagram will serve ads in the discovery feed users scroll through from that post. 

Ads already appear in the home and story feeds, with more volume and more types of ads than ever. Explore had been, until Tuesday, one of the (surprisingly) last places on Instagram that didn't have ads. 

But many foresaw change a comin'. During an earnings call in October, Mark Zuckerberg hinted that the Explore tab was an "opportunity" for more ad placement.   Read more...