Instagram introduces adverts in the UK

Instagram, the photo sharing app, has announced plans to begin showing ads to UK-based users.

The decision comes after the company, which reached 200m monthly active users this year with 60m photos shared a day, started posting ads in the US last year.

"We are giving brands an opportunity to sponsor their posts and deliver them to a much wider audience,” brand developer and head of business James Quarles told The Guardian.

Among these brands are Starbucks, Estee Lauder, Rimmel and Waitrose.

“We are starting with brands who already have a very strong presence on Instagram. We want this to be a natural experience, like the way people consume high-quality ads flicking through a magazine,” Quarles said.

However, users have the option of hiding the ads they are not interested in, and can provide feedback about the way the ads are being displayed.

Since being bought by Facebook, the app added some new figures, such as the option to share 15 seconds video clips.