From what I can see in my social circle, after they fixed that horrendous interface update, usage has gone up. This is compounded by people becoming more aware

From what I can see in my social circle, after they fixed that horrendous interface update, usage has gone up. This is compounded by people becoming more aware of their social media presence on Instagram. Stories is only part alternative. It's also very popular for group chats, for which Instagram has no alternative and WhatsApp doesn't have the perceived privacy that Snapchat has. Unfortunately I don't have any numbers to back this, just my perception.