CHENGDU, China, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of Instagram's announcement on privacy and terms of services changes, Camera360, an industry leader, has pledged to protect and uphold user privacy.

"Our top priority is protecting the privacy and security of our users' data," says Hao Xu, co-founder and CEO of Camera360. "We pledge never to violate the trust of our users or the sanctity of their personal information."

Camera360 is a globally leading mobile photo application on the Android and iPhone platforms, with nearly 80 million global users to date. The company is based in Chengdu, China, and has won global recognition for its unique products and innovative services.

Thomas Tsao, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners, a venture capital firm based in Shanghai and the lead investor in Camera360, comments, "We understand that the need to monetize is obviously a major driver behind Instagram's latest decision, but fortunately, Camera360 does not face the same challenges."

Whereas Instagram is a social network that relies on traffic to attract advertising dollars, Camera360 aims to generate revenue by providing the best experience on mobile devices to edit, store, and manage photos and videos within a safe and secure environment.

In September 2012, the company launched Cloud Album, a cloud-based multimedia storage and management platform connected to all Camera360 applications. In just three months, users have uploaded and stored over 152 million photos on the platform. Initial feedback indicates that many are willing to pay for such services, and Camera360 expects to accelerate the launch of a premium service in 2013.

Currently, two-thirds of overall user accounts are from China, while the rest is from overseas. Since Instagram's latest announcement, Camera360 has already seen a 10% jump in overseas downloads. The company expects that the breakdown between domestic and overseas will be able to reach 50:50 by the end of 2013.

"The pushback from Instagram users highlights the fine line between privacy and profit," says Xu. "People are voting by deleting their Instagram accounts, and choosing platforms like ours where privacy is number one."

About Camera360

Camera360 is a globally leading photo application on iPhone and Android devices. Founded by a team with over twenty years of experience in digital image processing and research, the company is based in Chengdu, China and has already achieved global recognition, winning numerous awards, including at the 2011 PCWorld Global Tech Forum. Today, Camera360 boasts nearly 80 million users globally, with over a third of its user base outside of China. The same creators of Camera360 have also launched Movie360, an award-winning video recording application, and cloud.camera360.com, a cloud-based service platform that allows users to upload, manage, and share photos and other multimedia. Since its launch in September 2012, the cloud platform has already accumulated over 152 million photos from around the world and is quickly becoming a leader in the cloud storage for multimedia sector. Recently, the company also announced a strategic partnership with Samsung to explore cooperation opportunities with Samsung's Galaxy digital cameras.

About Gobi Partners

Founded in 2002, Gobi Partners is a leading venture capital firm with its headquarters and incubation center in Shanghai, additional offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, as well as an overseas office in Singapore. A leading investor in early stage digital media and technology companies in China, Gobi manages five funds to date. Since its establishment, Gobi has funded dozens of early to traction stage companies and continues to invest actively in the region.

SOURCE Camera360