Instagram’s co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, are leaving the Facebook-owned company as a result of reported differences of opinion with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the direction of the popular photo-sharing app.

Systrom, who along with Krieger has been at Facebook since Instagram’s acquisition in 2012, said the pair would be departing to explore “curiosity and creativity again”.

“Mike and I are grateful for the last eight years at Instagram and six years with the Facebook team. We’ve grown from 13 people to over a thousand with offices around the world, all while building products used and loved by a community of over one billion. We’re now ready for our next chapter,” said Systrom.

“We remain excited for the future of Instagram and Facebook in the coming years as we transition from leaders to two users in a billion. We look forward to watching what these innovative and extraordinary companies do next.”

Despite the cordial sounding departure statement, the pair are alleged to have become frustrated with Zuckerberg’s increased involvement in the day-to-day operations at Instagram, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

On the back of Systrom and Krieger’s departures, it is believed that Instagram will become more of a product division within Facebook rather than an independent business, as it has been since its acquisition.

In a statement, Zuckerberg said: “Kevin and Mike are extraordinary product leaders and Instagram reflects their combined creative talents. I’ve learned a lot working with them for the past six years and have really enjoyed it. I wish them all the best and I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next.”