Instagram's US users to see ads INSTAGRAM is about to start carrying ads, in a move which could test users' loyalty to the popular photography and video sharing app. The company says users in the United States will start seeing a "sample" ad in the coming week. "This is a one-time ad from the Instagram team that's meant to give you a sense for the look and feel of the ads you will see," the company said in a blog post on Friday. The advert will carry a "sponsored" label in the top right hand corner and users will be able to make the image disappear by tapping the ..."" symbol in the bottom right hand corner. After the sample ad, Instagram said it would begin carrying commercials from a "handful" of brands, including Adidas, Ben & Jerry's, Burberry, General Electric, Lexus, Levi's, Macy's, Michael Kors, PayPal and Starwood. The company, which is estimated to have around 1.5 million Australian users, was unable to confirm when users in Australia will start seeing ads. Much may depend on the reaction in the US, with Instagram indicating it is keen to hear feedback. The introduction of ads is a delicate and potentially risky move for any social media app or website as users can become annoyed if ads start cluttering a site and move on to a rival. There's also a danger that a website's inherent cachet can be lessened by allowing brands to target users. Instagram director of business operations, Emily White, acknowledged those fears in comments made to The Wall Street Journal earlier this year. "If people see super spammy ads in their feeds it's going to be destructive," she said. However, Instagram's intention appears to be to run creative ads that users may even enjoy seeing alongside others' photographs and videos. The company has been under increasing pressure to carry ads, and generate greater revenue, since being bought by publicly-listed Facebook last year for about $US1 billion ($A1.04 billion). Instagram confirmed all users would retain ownership of photos and videos they publish. It said ads would be targeted to users' interests. "And to do that we will use information about what you do on Instagram and Facebook (our parent company)," it added.