Google pulls the plug on Android Instant apps

Google will discontinue Android Instants Apps in December 2025
An undated image. — Shutterstock
An undated image. — Shutterstock

Google has announced the shutdown of Android Instant Apps, a feature launched in 2017 that allowed users to access specific parts of an app without downloading and installing it.

The challenge with Instant Apps was that developers needed to create a streamlined version of their app, limited to 15MB. 

This became more difficult for those with complex libraries or codebases, and as a result, very few developers adopted Instant Apps support. 

Now, Google has decided to completely remove support for Instant Apps. 

A notification in the latest Android Studio canary build indicated that support will be suspended by December 2025, making the publishing and Google Play Instant APIs uselss and eliminating tooling support shortly thereafter.

Since the company has not released any meaningful updates for the project in years, it appears that Google has long had this plan in store. 

For most Android users, this shutdown will not be a significant loss, as Google is likely to continue prioritising web-based discovery and App Clips integrated through the Play Store.