Instagram is reporting that is has passed the 300 million active user mark - representing a 33 percent increase since March of this year when the app said that it had 200 million users.

This means that Instagram is now more popular than Twitter - it released figures six weeks ago which said that 284 million people use the micro-blogging platform. Twitter has only added 38 million new users since March, while Instagram has added 100m, and there is no reason to think that this trend is going to change.

There are 70 million photos shared on Instagram every day, and over 30 billion images have been shared since it went live in October of 2010. Justin Beiber is reported to be the most followed person on Instagram, with 23.6 million followers - Kim Kardashian is close behind with 23.1 million. 

Along with the figures, the company also announced that it will be introducing verification badges for celebrities and brands, and it will be upping its efforts to eliminate spam accounts.

Irish social media stats released earlier this week show signs of a similar trend in Ireland - but not to the same extent. 28 percent of Irish people actively use Twitter - only 18 percent are on Instragram.

However, those figures did show that Instagram has better user engagement figures in Ireland - 46 percent of those who regularly use social media check the app everyday - while only 37 percent check Twitter.

Facebook, by far the world's largest social network, acquired the app for $1bn (€80.3m) in 2012. The firm has also bought mobile messaging app, WhatsApp. As social media users move towards more mobile-friendly applications, Twitter shares have fallen by 41 percent this year - while Facebook stocks are up by 42 percent.