Instagram founders leaving Facebook

The founders of Instagram announced in a surprise move Monday that they were leaving Facebook — apparently due to disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg over the photo app’s direction.

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.”

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, praised the founders in a statement.

“Kevin and Mike are extraordinary product leaders and Instagram reflects their combined creative talents,” he said. “I wish them all the best and I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next.”

Despite the parting pleasantries, there had been growing tensions between Instagram’s founders and Zuckerberg about the future of the app, Bloomberg reported.

For years, Systrom and Krieger successfully resisted changes to Instagram that Facebook wanted. They also leveraged Facebook’s abundant resources such as engineers, according to Bloomberg.