Instagram has quietly removed its standalone apps for Hyperlapse and Boomerang from Google Play and Apple App Store. Spotted by TechCrunch, the Meta-owned social media platform is now focusing on Reels to rival short-video platforms like TikTok. Instagram Hyperlapse, which debuted in 2014, helped users create time-lapse videos, while the Boomerang app (2015) let users shoot short videos that loop back and forth. The latter is still available to use on the main Instagram app.
The latest development comes weeks after the company announced plans to remove the standalone app for Instagram TV (IGTV). The app was introduced to rival Alphabet’s YouTube, though it is available to download on Apple App Store and Google Play. Instagram’s Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps were seemingly removed from the App Store and Google Play around March 1.
Apart from IGTV and main Instagram apps, the Instagram Layout app still is available to download on the two app stores. The app essentially lets users create collages. Users can create or “remix" up to nine photos to create “fun, personalised layouts". On Google Play, Instagram is also offering Instagram Lite – a toned-down version of the main platform for smartphones with modest hardware. As of March 8, the app has over ten crore downloads.
TechCrunch via Apptopia data highlights that the Boomerang had a larger install base with roughly 30 crore million downloads since launch. The Hyperlapse, on the other hand, reportedly had over 2 crore downloads since launch. The report also adds that Boomerang was averaging 26,000 downloads per day at the time of its removal.
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As mentioned, Instagram has not made announcements about their removal. When the company announced plans to discontinue the IGTV app, it said the decision has been a “part of its efforts to make videos as simple and possible to discover and create."
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