Android Instant Apps Heads to the Google Graveyard This December

Google is finally discontinuing Android Instant Apps, a rarely used feature that allows users to try out new apps without installing the full version.

First rolled out in 2017, the feature lets Android apps from the Google Play Store worrying about downloads eating up data or storage space. Google actively pitched the feature to the mobile gaming industry shortly after it rolled out, telling developers how it could help onboard new players put off by lengthy download times.

However, for the feature to work in the first place, developers needed to get on board and shrink their apps down to a measly 15MB, not an easy task in the world of modern apps, even for a slimmed-down experience. As such, Instant Apps never really picked up much mainstream attention, though apps like budget retailer Wish and video-streaming platform Vimeo did at one point roll out Instant Apps integrations, Android Authority notes.

Instant Apps aren’t quite dead yet. Support will remain in place on the Google Play Store until December 2025, after which all Google Play Instant APIs will no longer work.

If, for whatever reason, you’d like to try out the feature while it still exists, there aren’t many eligible apps left. But if you’re curious, Finnish evening newspaper Ilta-Sanomat still provides an Android Instant Apps version on the Play Store.

About Will McCurdy

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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