Instagram quietly shuts down Boomerang and Hyperlapse standalone apps

Instagram has removed two of its standalone apps from app stores. According to data provided to our colleagues at TechCrunch by mobile intelligence site Apptopia, Instagram’s Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps took their last breath on March 1, 2022.

This move comes a week after Instagram announced plans to shut down its IGTV app, and follow the company’s plan to focus on features like Reels, Stories, and Video Posts. This time, though, there wasn’t any official announcement, and both apps were taken down from app stores quietly.

The change was spotted by a few tech enthusiasts and media analysts, including Matt Navarra, who all tweeted about the axing of the apps.

Boomerang

Boomerang from Instagram launched back in 2014 and allowed users to create mini videos from a burst of 10 shots, and share it with friends on other platforms.

According to the data provided by Apptopia, Boomerang was a fairly popular app with 301 million lifetime global downloads, and people were still downloading the app at the time of its removal (26,000 downloads per day on average).

Hyperlapse

Hyperlapse launched in 2015 and as its name implies, the app was a tool for making timelapse videos. One of the key selling points of the app was the video stabilization, and the ability to speed up the video up to 12 times its original speed.

Hyperlapse scored just 23 million downloads during its lifespan of 7 years, maybe due to the fact that the app was only available for iOS devices (while Boomerang was present both on the App Store and Google Play Store).

Our take

Shutting down Boomerang and Hyperlapse is a logical move from Instagram. Even though the former was still bringing in some downloads, the times when Instagram had to rely on standalone apps for additional features are long gone.

Furthermore, in the case of Hyperlapse things are even more clear. Most modern phones have the time lapse feature baked in their camera apps, and there’s no reason for a third-party app to exist whatsoever.

The other scapegoat - Boomerang, was also a goner a long long time ago. An Instagram update brought Boomerang mode and effects in Instagram six years ago, effectively rendering the standalone app useless.

Instagram no longer shies away from the prospect of having too many features stuffed inside the main app. The company has added a ton of features over the past couple of years, and is keen to continue to do so. Inside the app.

Last December the social media added three new features to the app - Playback, Reel Visual Replies, and Profile Embed. Instagram clearly stated their focus on simplifying the video content when the company merged Feed Video and IGTV into one format - Instagram Video.

Another standalone Instagram app - Layout, could be the next in line but a spokesperson said to our colleagues at TechCrunch that the collage app will remain available for the time being. All the Boomerang features baked inside the main Instagram app will also remain available.

“We’ve removed support for the standalone Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps to better focus our efforts on the main app,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We’ll continue working on new ways for people to be creative and have fun on Instagram.”

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