25 Of The Most Memorable Instagram Moments Of All Time, On Its 10th Anniversary

In October 2019, Aniston dethroned Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to become the fastest account to reach one million followers (five hours, 15 minutes) on the platform when she joined. This was of course due to her status as an internationally adored actress, sure. But the long-awaited reunion photo of the entire Friends certainly helped.

Beyoncé shared her and Jay-Z's great news, that they were expecting twins - and hailed a new era of celebrity pregnancy announcements in the process - with a stunning, mother Earth style portrait in February 2017. When Beyoncé welcomed her new additions to the Carter family, Rumi and Sir, fans were treated to another phenomenal portrait of the star as a goddess clutching new, teeny tiny babies.

Though social media can birth activists, memes, moments of change and more, it can also be ridiculous. Need we say anything more than 'Boaty McBoatface' or 'Salt Bae'? Well, we can also point to that time a photo of an egg became the most liked photo on Instagram (currently standing at 54.8 million) and all so it would beat the number of likes that a photo of Kylie Jenner's new baby daughter Stormi had amassed.

While hosting the 2014 Oscars, DeGeneres brought in some famous friends for a photo including Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong'o, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. The photo was one of the first mega-A-List selfies and became the most retweeted tweet on Twitter.

While some celebrities and influencers have used Instagram to showcase a polished, filtered and all-round unrealistic version of life, we also have a number of brilliant accounts mocking the artifice of it all. Take Celeste Barber, who boasts an eye-popping 7.3 million followers, which she cultivated by mimicking celebrities and models' Instagram content with her own, more candid, IRL versions.

In 2020, anything can be done via Instagram, including making an announcement that you are, essentially, departing the royal family. Using their own platform, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told their 10.7 million followers, and the world, of their decision to step back as senior royals, become financially independent from the monarchy and divide their time between the UK and US.

For those of us who were not present at the SS20 Versace show during Milan Fashion Week, luckily we were kept up to date via Instagram. Shortly after closing the show in the most extra and incredible way, Lopez shared the video of herself doing so, wearing a reworked version of her 1999 Grammys dress that launched Google Images...

Instagram is undoubtedly responsible for the birth of the influencer. But, this doesn't just mean human influencers. The platform has also helped many animals climb to levels of fame we could only imagine. For example, Grumpy Cat - who sadly passed away last year - leaving behind a legion of fans including Aubrey Plaza. Other animal-focussed accounts like The Dogist (3.9 million followers), Esther The Wonder Pig and Blanco Bun have amassed huge followings too.

Though Instagram has sometimes been criticised for promoting unrealistic and harmful attitudes when it comes to body image, the app also allows users to post their own, unfiltered content which has allowed movements like body positivity to flourish.

In 2017, Ashley Graham - who boasts 11.9 million followers - made the Forbes list of the highest-earning models for the first time. The new mother continues to use her platform to share photos of herself with stretch marks, cellulite and everything else women experience.

One of the world's most closely watched couples, known colloquially as Kimye, married in Italy in 2014 with this just-married photo of Kim wearing her Givenchy wedding dress against a backdrop of flowers becoming the most liked photo on the platform for a short while.

As the aforementioned egg incident shows, Instagram is also a place for laughs, which has allowed the rise of memes and meme accounts. Instagram users like @thefatjewish, @betches, @mytherapistsays and more possess millions of followers and can be relied upon to inject some positive energy into people's lives, even during lockdown.

As well as the funny, there is also the heartwarming - such is the case of photojournalism project Humans Of New York. A simple yet powerful content model started by Brandon Stanton in 2010, the project has since gone beyond the Big Apple, travelling across the world for projects - several of which have raised money for charity. Stanton has also released books and featured famous faces including Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian and Hillary Clinton.

It's become tradition for Met Gala attendees to head to the bathroom of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the annual toilet photo, given the event's reported protocol on phones and pictures. Jenner did so in 2017 with an epic group selfie which included her sisters Kendall and Kim, ASAP Rocky, Diddy, Brie Larson, Paris Jackson, Lily Aldridge and more.

Influencers have emerged in every space: Fashion, beauty, food, activism and even housework. A new type of personal trainer was birthed with Instagram such as Kayla Itsines, who boasts 12.6 million followers.

Just before Instagram's 10th birthday, 94-year-old beloved conservationist Sir David Attenborough joined the platform in an effort to reach out to young people in his continuing fight to halt the devastating effects of climate change on our Earth and animals. After joining, Attenborough ended Aniston's reign of the fastest account to accumulate one million followers, reaching the milestone in four hours, 44 minutes.

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer this summer, what originally started as a music industry-specific movement spread globally through Instagram. Users participated in Blackout Tuesday on July 7, agreeing to pause all social media content to give space to Black voices during a time of racial uprisings, anger and heartbreak over the deaths of Floyd as well as Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

As users posed with viral food and products, they also flocked to find the best backdrop. In every city and country, you can find them. An instantly recognisable location for a picture which you will have definitely seen on Instagram, for example the plush pink chairs and egg-shaped toilets of London's Sketch restaurant.

The young environmentalist has amassed 10.5 million followers with her school strike over climate change - which she does every Friday and shares a familiar picture of to her Instagram platform too.

Clearly, reunions go down very well on the 'gram. When this cryptic photo was published on various members of the Spice Girls Instagram pages in February 2018, fans freaked out over what it could mean. They were right to be excited, a few months later a 2019 reunion tour (minus Victoria, for work reasons) of UK and Ireland was announced.

From bubble waffles to cronuts to cookie sandwiches, food has become another huge success story of Instagram. Take Black Tap, the New York City burger and milkshake bar whose freakshakes are legendary on the platform. Did you even go to Black Tap if you didn't Instagram it? No.