The co-founders of the photo-sharing app Instagram, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, said late Monday they’re exiting the company they sold to Facebook six years ago, the latest chapter in an extended shakeup of the social media giant.
 
Systrom and Krieger submitted their resignations to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and plan to leave in the coming weeks, according to a person familiar with the men’s decision-making.
 
“We’re planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again," Systrom wrote in a blog post. "Building new things requires that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that’s what we plan to do.”
 
The departure of two popular executives who eight years ago built Instagram from scratch is likely to impact morale and add to Facebook’s growing list of troubles, which includes fighting disinformation and Russian interference ahead of the 2016 elections.
 
The two had clashed with Zuckerberg in recent months, the person said.
 
Several other top executives have left Facebook this year, including the chief executive of WhatsApp, Facebook’s largest acquisition, and its influential head of policy and communications.
 
Facebook bought Instagram, its first major acquisition, for $1 billion in 2012. Instagram has become Facebook’s biggest success story in recent years as it topped 1 billion users and launched new formats, grabbing momentum from competitors such as Snapchat.