Google will officially shut down its Android Instant Apps feature by December 2025, denoting the end of a project that never truly gained traction among developers or users.
Launched in 2017, Instant Apps were designed to let people launch lightweight versions of Android apps without installing them. Tapping a supported link would trigger an immediate app experience, no downloads, no delays.
For users, it aimed to bring convenience and for developers, it offered better visibility. But eight years on, it’s obvious the feature didn’t live up to expectations.
A warning spotted in the latest Android Studio build triggered the news. “Instant Apps support will be removed by Google Play in December 2025. Publishing and all Google Play Instant APIs will no longer work. Tooling support will be removed in Android Studio Otter Feature Drop.”
This tucked into a corner of Android Studio, confirmed what many developers had suspected: Instant Apps is on the chopping block.
Google’s decision wasn’t widely announced in the usual way. Instead, the company quietly confirmed the move when pressed. “Usage and engagement of Instant Apps have been low, and developers are leveraging other tools for app discovery such as AI-powered app highlights and simultaneous app installs,” said Google spokesperson Nia Carter.
“This change allows us to invest more in the tools that are working well for developers, and help direct users to full app downloads to foster deeper engagement.”
In practical terms, Instant Apps never caught on because they demanded more effort than most developers were willing to invest. Apps had to be trimmed to under 15MB, a tight constraint for modern mobile applications bloated with media, libraries, and complex logic. As a result, only a handful of services like Vimeo and Wish ever fully embraced it.
What’s more, Google’s own disinterest in the feature became apparent. The company hadn’t made any significant updates to the platform in years, noting an internal change in priorities.
Its official developer documentation hasn’t been revised to reflect the upcoming deprecation, a silence that reiterates how marginal Instant Apps had become in Google’s ecosystem.
Now, with the final nail in the coffin scheduled for December, developers still using the feature will need to transition. Google is doubling down on web-based app discovery, simultaneous app installs, and new engagement tools within the Play Store.
Most Android users didn’t notice the feature existed in the first place, and most developers quietly moved on years ago.
