Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey quits Instagram, Elon Musk reacts with fire emoji

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter (now known as X) and the current CEO of Block, deleted his Instagram account after 12 years on Friday, August 18 saying that he had been inactive on the platform for years. Dorsey was one of the first 10 users of Instagram when it launched in 2010. He has been an outspoken critic of the platform in recent years arguing that it is harmful to mental health and that it is used to spread misinformation. Dorsey had also criticised the company's latest social media app, Threads for privacy concerns, while calling it a ‘Twitter clone’.

In a post on X, Dorsey said his account was one of the first 10 accounts on the social media platform. “Deleted my Instagram account after 12 years. was one of the first 10 accounts I believe, and one of the first angel investors. Who will they give the @jack handle to?" Dorsey wrote on X.

Meanwhile, in a separate post on the decentralised social media app Nostr Dorsey noted that he was among users of Instagram when the co-founder Kevin Systrom was an intern at Odeo. Notably, Odeo was the organisation founded in 2005 by Noah Glass and Evan Williams  that later reformed as the Obvious Corporation which ended up becoming the birthplace of Twitter.

He wrote “ I deleted my instagram account. Don't know why it took me so long. I think I was in the first 10 accounts on the platform, and one of the first angel investors. Kevin was our intern at Odeo. When they sold to FB I stopped using it. Will be interesting to see what happens with the @name."

Elon Musk reacts

Meanwhile, Twitter owner Elon Musk replied to Dorsey's post on X with a fire emoji. According to the TechCrunch report, Dorsey has a mixed relationship with Twitter. On the one hand, he still holds some of his stake in Twitter while he has supported other Twitter rivals like Bluesky and Nostr.