Systrom and Krieger have resigned and intend to leave the company in the coming weeks, as they announced their decision to Facebook, Inc.
"We're planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again. 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," Kevin Systrom, Instagram Co-Founder & CEO said in a statement published on the site.
According to Systrom, they are "now ready" for their "next chapter."
"We remain excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook in the coming years as we transition from leaders to two users in a billion. We look forward to watching what these innovative and extraordinary companies do next," he stated.
Representatives of Facebook, which owns Instagram, have not yet commented on this decision.
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The New York Times notes that the departure from the company of Systrom and Krieger calls into question the future of Instagram.
Instagram is a free photo and video sharing application with social network elements developed in the US in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.
In 2012, Facebook announced the purchase of the service for one billion US dollars.