Instagram is known to launch new apps dedicated to the features the platform boasts of. In recent years, the Meta-owned photo and video sharing platform has been slowly killing off some its apps.
Instagram Direct
Instagram Direct was the app’s dedicated messaging app launched in late 2017.
It was a standalone app Instagram was testing and had four tabs, Camera, Messages, Stories and an Instagram button that sent you to the main app. Installing the app meant that your DM inbox on the main app disappeared and could only be seen on the Direct app.
“We’re rolling back the test of the standalone Direct app. We’ll focus on continuing to make Instagram Direct the best place for fun conversations with your friends,” an Instagram spokesperson said in a statement.
Instagram Direct was later shut down in early 2019.
Later that year, Instagram launched Threads as a companion app for Instagram and is meant for a more intimate sharing with your “Close Friends“, the Instagram feature that is geared for you to share Stories to a specific audience where you post Stories that can only be viewed to a select group of your followers on Instagram.
Threads allows its users to share their status and location. The app invites those on your “Close Friends” list to automatically share their location, speed and battery life with friends.
Threads is still available for Android and iOS and is available globally.
It really has very low download numbers and Instagram may decide to kill it.
IGTV
IGTV, Instagram’s dedicated app for its long-form video is shutting down.
Instagram is already alerting users that the app won’t be available in the app store.
Instagram shared that it wants to make video as simple as possible to both discover and create from within its main app.
Boomerang and HyperLapse
Boomerang and HyperLapse are the latest apps to join the Instagram graveyard.
Boomerang which allows for looping video was launched in 2015 while HyperLapse which allows for timelapse was launched in 2014 and was only available for download on iOS.
Both apps let users be creative when posting for Instagram and Instagram is shutting them down as those effects are now available in the main app.
“We’ve removed support for the standalone Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps to better focus our efforts on the main app. We’ll continue working on new ways for people to be creative and have fun on Instagram,” said an Instagram spokesperson.
What Next
Instagram has grown past its early days of being afraid to fill its main app with tons of features. The app already has Reels, Shopping, Live Video and more.
Furthermore, it is much easier to bring ads to every feature and take advantage of the billions of users already on the main app. Instagram already offer Ads on its Shopping tab, Reels, ads on Stories, Sticker Ads, and the ads in your feed, ads on the explore tab and in your Suggested Posts.
