When Mark Zuckerberg feared Google will buy Instagram, and then over the next few years they could…

Mark Zuckerberg was deeply concerned about Google potentially acquiring Instagram before Facebook purchased the photo-sharing app in 2012, internal emails revealed during the ongoing Meta antitrust trial.
"If Instagram continues to kick ass on mobile, or if Google buys them, then over the next few years they could easily add pieces of their service that copy what we're doing now," Zuckerberg wrote in September 2011, according to documents presented by the Federal Trade Commission.
The trial has exposed Facebook's strategic thinking in the months leading up to its $1 billion Instagram acquisition. The US government alleges Meta violated competition laws by buying companies that threatened Facebook's monopoly, potentially seeking to force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg tracked Instagram's growth closely, noting in February 2011: "Instagram seems like it's growing quickly. In 4 months they're up to 2m users and 30k daily photo uploads. That's a lot. We need to track this closely. Also, apparently Dropbox's next big push is going to be in photo sharing."
By February 2012, Zuckerberg was contemplating acquisition, writing: "I wonder if we should consider buying Instagram, even if it costs ~500M."
Facebook executives discussed various strategies, including acquiring Instagram and deliberately slowing its development. "What we'd do is keep their product running and just not add more features to it, and focus future development on our products," Zuckerberg suggested.
Chief Product Officer Chris Cox acknowledged Instagram's explosive growth, writing it "validates our strategy of de-cluttering our mobile experience."
Zuckerberg ultimately viewed the acquisition as buying time against competitors, stating: "Even if some new competitors springs up, buying Instagram, Path, Foursquare, etc now will give us a year or more to integrate their dynamics before anyone can get close to their scale again."
The trial continues as the government seeks to prove Meta's acquisitions were part of a systematic "buy or bury" strategy against potential competitors.