No Filter: How Instagram transformed business, celebrity and culture
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- Create Date：2021-04-08 14:51:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Sarah Frier
- ISBN：1847942547
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Summary
‘Deeply researched and highly entertaining。’ The Times
‘Vivid reporting and electric story-telling。’ Ashlee Vance， author of Elon Musk
‘Clear-eyed and objective。’ New York Times
The extraordinary inside story of how Instagram became the world ’ s most successful app
In just ten years， Instagram has gone from being a simple photo app to a $100-billion company。 The journey has involved ground-breaking innovations， a billion-dollar takeover， and clashes between some of the biggest names in tech。 But it’s a story that has never been told – until now。
In No Filter， Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier reveals how Instagram became the hottest app in a generation， reshaping our culture and economy in the process。 With astonishing access to all the key players – from Instagram’s co-founders to super-influencers like Kris Jenner – Frier offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of every moment in the company’s life: from its launch， to its unlikely acquisition by Facebook， to its founders’ dramatic disputes with their new boss， Mark Zuckerberg。
But this is not just a Silicon Valley story。 No Filter explores how Instagram has reshaped global business， creating a new economy of ‘influencers’ and pioneering a business model that sells an aspirational lifestyle to all of us。 And it delves into Instagram’s effects on popular culture， rewiring our understanding of celebrity and placing mounting pressure on all of us to perform online – to the point of warping our perception of reality。
The resulting book connects one company’s rise to a global revolution in technology， culture and business。 Facebook’s decision to buy Instagram was the best investment it ever made。 But we’re still learning about what it has cost the rest of us。
‘Vivid reporting and electric story-telling。’ Ashlee Vance， author of Elon Musk
‘Clear-eyed and objective。’ New York Times
The extraordinary inside story of how Instagram became the world ’ s most successful app
In just ten years， Instagram has gone from being a simple photo app to a $100-billion company。 The journey has involved ground-breaking innovations， a billion-dollar takeover， and clashes between some of the biggest names in tech。 But it’s a story that has never been told – until now。
In No Filter， Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier reveals how Instagram became the hottest app in a generation， reshaping our culture and economy in the process。 With astonishing access to all the key players – from Instagram’s co-founders to super-influencers like Kris Jenner – Frier offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of every moment in the company’s life: from its launch， to its unlikely acquisition by Facebook， to its founders’ dramatic disputes with their new boss， Mark Zuckerberg。
But this is not just a Silicon Valley story。 No Filter explores how Instagram has reshaped global business， creating a new economy of ‘influencers’ and pioneering a business model that sells an aspirational lifestyle to all of us。 And it delves into Instagram’s effects on popular culture， rewiring our understanding of celebrity and placing mounting pressure on all of us to perform online – to the point of warping our perception of reality。
The resulting book connects one company’s rise to a global revolution in technology， culture and business。 Facebook’s decision to buy Instagram was the best investment it ever made。 But we’re still learning about what it has cost the rest of us。
Reviews
Crystal
，
3。5 stars - interesting
Eva Filoramo
，
This is not the kind of thing that I usually read。 Not at all。 But I was drawn to the idea that the story of social media is， in part， the story of us， a society and as individuals。 And Frier does a very good job describing the behind the scenes of Instagram and Facebook， I appreciated the choice of telling their stories as if they were characters of a novel instead of multi billionaire， all powerful corporations。
Tejas Niphadkar
，
A light read/listen due to the storytelling approach used by the author。 The books throws light on some interesting insights related to the human behaviour on social media apps， which come up as an effect of Instagram’s product thesis and become a cause for thesis’s transmutation。 Some interesting stories here are regarding Instagram’s competition with Snapchat and genesis of Insta stories， change in Instagram feed algo etc。 and this is the most exciting takeaway from this book。The struggle of b A light read/listen due to the storytelling approach used by the author。 The books throws light on some interesting insights related to the human behaviour on social media apps， which come up as an effect of Instagram’s product thesis and become a cause for thesis’s transmutation。 Some interesting stories here are regarding Instagram’s competition with Snapchat and genesis of Insta stories， change in Instagram feed algo etc。 and this is the most exciting takeaway from this book。The struggle of being an “independent” company within the Facebook’s family of apps is very well articulated， often giving a peek into the way Facebook works。 These peeks also extend to the relationships between the top tech brass of companies in the Sillicon Valley and the furious competition。The author is unapologetically appreciative about Instagram throughout and often fails to give us the Facebook’s/Mark’s side of the story。 This might also be because a lot of folks at Facebook weren’t allowed to speak to the author as she mentions in the start。 。。。more
Marc Hilt
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Interesting read。 A lot of talk about the difficulties Instagram has had since being acquired by Facebook
James Chapman
，
Surprisingly interesting story and well written。 Key idea: being able to build own MVP is important。 There is lots of cross pollination in this industry。 Focused on user value not profit but then gave in。
Lindsey
，
Wow。 What a ride。 As a pretty early user of instagram （2012）， this really took me through my own rollercoaster experience with the app by contextualizing how silicon valley partnerships and feuds fostered the growth and development of this app。 I initially loved the app as a way to make art out of the everyday， and then to meet new people and build community， especially when my life transformed as a new parent （complete with making real life friends）。 So much of this experience aligned with the Wow。 What a ride。 As a pretty early user of instagram （2012）， this really took me through my own rollercoaster experience with the app by contextualizing how silicon valley partnerships and feuds fostered the growth and development of this app。 I initially loved the app as a way to make art out of the everyday， and then to meet new people and build community， especially when my life transformed as a new parent （complete with making real life friends）。 So much of this experience aligned with the app's early goals and intentions to focus on community， simplicity， and beauty。 Increasingly though， I grew more disillusioned。 The race for perfection via carefully crafted false realities， battling for likes and follows， and all began to feel not so great。 The app's switch to a curated feed from a chronological feed， and increasingly its inability to escape from ads were my final straws， and this book shows how these changes were embedded in pressure from facebook to grow， generate revenue， and to "move fast and break things。" Frier's masterful storytelling makes this narrative come to life， through an inside view of the company's growth throughout the 2010s。 Definitely worth a read if this app has been part of your life！ 。。。more
Sarah
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I was super bored by the time I reached the middle of this book- all the business talk; who bought which company， Mark Zuckerberg， who was angry with whom， did not do it for me。 I don’t think I will finish this book。
Bartosz Majewski
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Everyone know that Instagram was bought by facebook after a year in existence， with zero revenue for a billion dollars。 I was curious about the second part of the story。 What happened after the acquisition？ Why did founders stayed for another six years instead of a traditional "rest and vest"？ I roughly got what i wanted。 The only issue with this book is that it's a very recent and public story。 We've all lived through pieces of it so a lot of this story was already in my head prior to reading t Everyone know that Instagram was bought by facebook after a year in existence， with zero revenue for a billion dollars。 I was curious about the second part of the story。 What happened after the acquisition？ Why did founders stayed for another six years instead of a traditional "rest and vest"？ I roughly got what i wanted。 The only issue with this book is that it's a very recent and public story。 We've all lived through pieces of it so a lot of this story was already in my head prior to reading the book。 。。。more
Kate
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This book was interesting if not totally gripping。 It didn’t have any major scandals or anything。 But it did have some interesting insider info。 Kept me going。
Jaume Sués Caula
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Great storytelling of not such an amazing story。 If you have followed both， Facebook and Instagram on the news， you’ll find no additional insights or backstage gossips。
Keyur Vohra
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This book explains Instagram in a way I never imagined the platform to be。 Book explains the journey， acquisition， and turnaround for a more data-centric growth approach and how all of that has changed the platform。 It gets a bit boring in the second half。 In case， you are managing a product or working in/with any of the product teams， this would be a good read。 I started using Instagram around 2015/16 and have seen few changes happened on the app but understanding why it happened from internal This book explains Instagram in a way I never imagined the platform to be。 Book explains the journey， acquisition， and turnaround for a more data-centric growth approach and how all of that has changed the platform。 It gets a bit boring in the second half。 In case， you are managing a product or working in/with any of the product teams， this would be a good read。 I started using Instagram around 2015/16 and have seen few changes happened on the app but understanding why it happened from internal sources is a revelation。 I hate Facebook more after reading this book。 :P 。。。more
Emily
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4。5！ Couldn’t put it down， and being a daily Instagram user I found it very compelling。 Definitely recommend！
Yohannes Fassika
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An engaging chronicle of Instagram's path from inception to the time its creators left because of disagreement with Facebook on values and resources。 It， on the way， discussed the effect the app had on society， especially the youth。 I enjoyed it all the way。 An engaging chronicle of Instagram's path from inception to the time its creators left because of disagreement with Facebook on values and resources。 It， on the way， discussed the effect the app had on society， especially the youth。 I enjoyed it all the way。 。。。more
Molten*Violet
，
As someone who does not actually have an Instagram， I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book but the more I read the more invested I became and the last lines of the book were the absolute perfect conclusion。 Frier takes the reader through the whole story of Instagram under its founders and it is fascinating to learn about all the connections that flow through the tech industry。 One of my favorite aspects was getting to see the development of social media and how much key players in thi As someone who does not actually have an Instagram， I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this book but the more I read the more invested I became and the last lines of the book were the absolute perfect conclusion。 Frier takes the reader through the whole story of Instagram under its founders and it is fascinating to learn about all the connections that flow through the tech industry。 One of my favorite aspects was getting to see the development of social media and how much key players in this industry have so thoroughly shaped technology， society， and culture。 Definitely recommend。 。。。more
Kaitlin Prince
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Hate the cover。 Does a disservice to the well researched book。 Instagram comes off as better than， felt there was maybe a slight bias with the author。 However， Zuckerberg comes across as such an ass that I promptly deleted Facebook。 The book did make me appreciate the OG IG。 I wish it was out of Facebook’s hands as I do agree they are slowly ruining it in their endless quest for growth。 Amazing how much Facebook’s policies have changed he way the world interacts with and sees itself。
Sravya Balasa
，
A brutally honest picture of the history of Instagram， its founders， and where it's going。 Reading this made me understand more deeply the results of the Facebook acquisition as well as how the ideals of both organizations meld and clash。 A must-read for those interested in tech stories。 A brutally honest picture of the history of Instagram， its founders， and where it's going。 Reading this made me understand more deeply the results of the Facebook acquisition as well as how the ideals of both organizations meld and clash。 A must-read for those interested in tech stories。 。。。more
Aamna
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3。5Entertaining。 In this class of books （Hatching Twitter， Superpumped etc）， I'd rank this first。 3。5Entertaining。 In this class of books （Hatching Twitter， Superpumped etc）， I'd rank this first。 。。。more
Arturo
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A great history about two companiesI'm not an Instagram's user but I really enjoyed this book because now I understand this popular app using a business perspective。 Great book。 A great history about two companiesI'm not an Instagram's user but I really enjoyed this book because now I understand this popular app using a business perspective。 Great book。 。。。more
Namita
，
Really well researched and well written book about the founding and evolution of Instagram。 I think I had set my expectations a bit too high for this one， with both Goodreads reviews and a friend comparing it to Bad Blood; I didn't find anything in this book quite that shocking in terms of content。 I mainly enjoyed learning more about the founders of the company， the tense relationship between Facebook and Instagram， and the evolution of the algorithms and features used in the app。 Even though I Really well researched and well written book about the founding and evolution of Instagram。 I think I had set my expectations a bit too high for this one， with both Goodreads reviews and a friend comparing it to Bad Blood; I didn't find anything in this book quite that shocking in terms of content。 I mainly enjoyed learning more about the founders of the company， the tense relationship between Facebook and Instagram， and the evolution of the algorithms and features used in the app。 Even though I don't use social media much anymore， I definitely used to be an avid user of Instagram and Facebook back in the day， so it was interesting to see how the features I liked and disliked came about。I personally did not find the bits about celebrity/influencer culture that interesting。 Of course you can not have a book about Instagram without discussing Instagram influencers， but I didn't think Frier added any new perspective to the thousands of thinkpieces/youtube analysis videos about influencer culture。 However， I did not realize that many of the original Instagram influencers were handpicked by the original， small Instagram team， that was something interesting to learn。 。。。more
Darsler
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I can't even say anything， but this book proves how Facebook's a very bad company。 I can't even say anything， but this book proves how Facebook's a very bad company。 。。。more
Johann Fernandes
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The story of the inception of Instagram is interesting given it's contrast to other technology apps such as Twitter， FB， Youtube。 The gram was able to dominate even though it started many years after its competitors。 What was unfortunate was its sale to FB because even if you want to own and have control of privacy， the only alternative to FB is a company owned by FB。 The story of the inception of Instagram is interesting given it's contrast to other technology apps such as Twitter， FB， Youtube。 The gram was able to dominate even though it started many years after its competitors。 What was unfortunate was its sale to FB because even if you want to own and have control of privacy， the only alternative to FB is a company owned by FB。 。。。more
Dom
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Frier offers a well researched， and finely written profile of Instagram。The reader is taken on a journey of the birth of the company， to acquisition， to the point at which the original founders leave the company。This profile is unique， however， in that it concerns a large part of itself with what happened after the company was acquired。As a consequence， it offers an interesting glimpse into how Facebook operates， and in general， the risks of founders selling their company and the loss of autonom Frier offers a well researched， and finely written profile of Instagram。The reader is taken on a journey of the birth of the company， to acquisition， to the point at which the original founders leave the company。This profile is unique， however， in that it concerns a large part of itself with what happened after the company was acquired。As a consequence， it offers an interesting glimpse into how Facebook operates， and in general， the risks of founders selling their company and the loss of autonomy that comes with it。To add， Frier offers a nice analysis of the impact of Instagram on wider society - this analysis felt somewhat casual， but was a welcome summary nonetheless。 。。。more
Elizabeth
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sooooo good and the narrative writing style had me flipping the pages as fast as i could。 a thorough investigation into the role of social media/technology in politics， culture， and business。 the authors’s last few sentences best sum up the arc of Instagram: “[systrom said] ‘we tried really hard to do that， to be a force for good。’ but 1 billion users later， the app they developed to have tremendous cultural influence has been mixed up in a corporate struggle over personality， pride， and priorit sooooo good and the narrative writing style had me flipping the pages as fast as i could。 a thorough investigation into the role of social media/technology in politics， culture， and business。 the authors’s last few sentences best sum up the arc of Instagram: “[systrom said] ‘we tried really hard to do that， to be a force for good。’ but 1 billion users later， the app they developed to have tremendous cultural influence has been mixed up in a corporate struggle over personality， pride， and priorities。 if facebook’s history is any guide， the real cost of the acquisition will fall on instagram’s users。” 。。。more
Lucas
，
Very well written and deserving of the Financial Times Best Business Book of 2020 award。 I was surprised when the Facebook acquisition of Instagram took place only like 12% of the way through this book， but the company has been a part of Facebook far longer than it existed independently at this point。 The central purpose of the book seems to be exploring the relationship between Instagram’s founder Kevin Systrom and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg。 Believe it or not， the relationship went sour。 And t Very well written and deserving of the Financial Times Best Business Book of 2020 award。 I was surprised when the Facebook acquisition of Instagram took place only like 12% of the way through this book， but the company has been a part of Facebook far longer than it existed independently at this point。 The central purpose of the book seems to be exploring the relationship between Instagram’s founder Kevin Systrom and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg。 Believe it or not， the relationship went sour。 And the book ends with the sentence “At Facebook Inc， there was only room for one CEO。” Is that surprising？ How many corporate acquisitions are there where the acquired company just gets to operate happily and independently forever？ If Instagram’s founders didn’t want to be like Facebook， they shouldn’t have sold to Facebook。 Sure they were told they’d be independent but that’s ridiculous。 They could have sold to Twitter， since Systrom was actually much closer with Jack Dorsey personally at the time。 They could have just not sold at all， and maybe the world would be a better place now， or maybe they’d still have the exact same issues。They sold to Facebook so they could take advantage of Facebook’s infrastructure and resources。 They can’t take that deal and then be mad when Facebook wants to employ Facebook’s growth tactics on the company they bought。 Did Zuckerburg make some decisions that were ego driven with a thin veneer of data driven？ Sure。 But I didn’t leave this book feeling particularly sorry for Kevin Systrom， who made 400 million dollars selling to Facebook and didn’t share anything with the original 13 Instagram employees， some of whom netted nothing amazing from the sale。 Regardless of how I feel about that thesis though， still a really well researched book by Sarah Frier。 I’m not sure what more you could want in a biography of Instagram。 。。。more
Kasia
，
Dobrze napisana historia， chociaż czasami trochę męcząca od natłoku wydarzeń。 Myśle， ze warto przeczytać by trochę lepiej zrozumieć jak działają Social media i cała korporacja Facebooka。
Gosia
，
Nie czytajcie tej książki。 Nie warto。 Chyba， że chcecie fabularyzowanej， upstrzonej opisami tego， jaką kto ma koszulkę i co jadł na śniadanie， wersji historii wykupu Instagrama przez Facebooka i wszystkiego， co stało się dalej。 Żeby się tego dowiedzieć nie musicie jednak czytać książki Sarah Frier - wystarczy， że wejdziecie na jeden z popularnych， zagranicznych serwisów technologicznych， lub nawet na mój serwis Mediaphilia。plZ opublikowanych tam tekstów dowiecie się znacznie więcej。Ta książka to Nie czytajcie tej książki。 Nie warto。 Chyba， że chcecie fabularyzowanej， upstrzonej opisami tego， jaką kto ma koszulkę i co jadł na śniadanie， wersji historii wykupu Instagrama przez Facebooka i wszystkiego， co stało się dalej。 Żeby się tego dowiedzieć nie musicie jednak czytać książki Sarah Frier - wystarczy， że wejdziecie na jeden z popularnych， zagranicznych serwisów technologicznych， lub nawet na mój serwis Mediaphilia。plZ opublikowanych tam tekstów dowiecie się znacznie więcej。Ta książka to strata czasu。 Niczego nie uczy， ani pod kątem biznesowym， ani technologicznym， nie stanowi też odpowiedzi na pytania osób， które może nie rozumieją fenomenu mediów społecznościowych， w tym - Instagrama。To taka modna dziś， pseudodokumentalna breja - co myśleli twórcy firmy， pijąc dobre wino i jeżdżąc drogim samochodem。 Atrakcyjny zapychacz czasu dla młodych spragnionych iluzorycznego wglądu w świat wielkiego biznesu - w rzeczywistości przerażająca płycizna。 。。。more
Simon Smith
，
This is a phenomenally well-researched and narrated account of Instagram’s rise。 It is rich in details that make you wonder how the author managed to get them。 The only reason I’m giving it four stars rather than five is that I question whether Instagram is important enough to even warrant a dedicated book。 For this reason， the parts of the book that I find most interesting are the author’s exploration of how Instagram and Facebook’s issues reflect the broader issues in society related to social This is a phenomenally well-researched and narrated account of Instagram’s rise。 It is rich in details that make you wonder how the author managed to get them。 The only reason I’m giving it four stars rather than five is that I question whether Instagram is important enough to even warrant a dedicated book。 For this reason， the parts of the book that I find most interesting are the author’s exploration of how Instagram and Facebook’s issues reflect the broader issues in society related to social media。 In these parts， the book feels like a worthwhile endeavour， and the author’s analyses here are thoughtful， using the story of Instagram to examine issues that society has been focused on with social media since the 2016 election。 So I think it’s worth reading for anyone interested in the story of social media’s effects on society。 But as a business story alone， I don’t think it’s particularly interesting， except perhaps as a warning to people considering having their startup acquired。 。。。more
Dalia Jankevičiūtė
，
Man trūko aiškaus siužeto， įdomesnių， negu ir taip viešai publikai žinomų faktų ir platesnės tech industrijos apžvalgos。 Koncentruojamasi buvo tik į įvykių post factum， autorė nekalbėjo apie planavimą ar FB/insta iš anksto nustatytus susitarimus， lengvai demonizavo FB， kaip piktą vyresnį brolį。 Tuo pačiu tik pačioje pabaigoje paminėjo Tik Tok， nors manau， kad tai viena pagrindinių jų šių dienų pokalbių temų。
Cindy
，
I was relatively late to the game with Instagram #oldlady （2018） but had no idea about it's complicated history #understatement with Facebook。 I am much more aware of misinformation #wishthesharebuttonwouldgoaway and how I use social media these days #catphotos #foodpics。 Insightful bit of journalism！ #notfakenews I was relatively late to the game with Instagram #oldlady （2018） but had no idea about it's complicated history #understatement with Facebook。 I am much more aware of misinformation #wishthesharebuttonwouldgoaway and how I use social media these days #catphotos #foodpics。 Insightful bit of journalism！ #notfakenews 。。。more
Michael Ellis
，