Instagram, the photo editing application, has been purchased by Facebook.

Facebook officials said that the company purchased Instagram for 1 billion dollars.

Why so much money ? Despite the fact that it does not generate income right now, Facebook bets on the simplicity and popularity of the Instagram application, an application that can easily make money from passive and active users.

Also, Instagram represents a threat on the photo sharing market where Facebook had no spectacular features, only a simple upload. The post-processing tasks were made through third party apps like Aviary.

With Instagram, you can edit your photos by using digital effect filters, like the ones seen below:

Until Facebook integrates Instagram in the social network, the application can be used for free on Android and iOS.

The purchase of Instagram is considered the transaction of the year on the Social Media market and one of the biggest transactions of all time. The record is still held by Google  as the company purchased YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars.