The decision scared lots of people. In a single month, the company lost half of its 16.3 million daily users. The exodus forced Instagram to perform a public mea culpa.
"Legal documents are easy to misinterpret," the company said. "It is not our intention to sell your photos." The language was changed, and co-founder Kevin Systrom promised the company had no plans to do that kind of thing.
A year later, the company has recovered. Instagram surpassed 200 million users in March. But the episode has not been forgotten.