Google to Shut Down Android Instant Apps by December 2025

Google has confirmed plans to deprecate Android Instant Apps, marking the end of the feature that allowed users to run portions of Android apps without full installation. The phase-out is scheduled for completion in December 2025.

Introduced in 2017, Instant Apps aimed to simplify user access to app content by enabling direct entry via supported links, bypassing the need for Play Store downloads. Despite the initial promise, the feature failed to gain traction within the developer community due to technical constraints and limited adoption.

Developers were required to design streamlined versions of their applications restricted to 15MB in size. This limitation posed challenges, particularly for apps incorporating large libraries or resource-intensive features. As a result, participation remained minimal, with early supporters like Vimeo and Wish among the few to implement it.

The shutdown notice surfaced in the latest Android Studio canary build. The alert indicates that all Google Play Instant APIs and publishing capabilities will be discontinued by year-end. The Otter Feature Drop in Android Studio is also set to remove tooling support.

Though Google has not officially updated its developer support pages with the announcement, indications of the feature’s decline have been evident. Instant Apps have seen little to no development investment in recent years. The increased development effort required, coupled with stagnant user interest, foreshadowed the service’s demise.

Google is expected to pivot toward enhancing web-based app discovery and Play Store App Clip-like experiences as alternatives. Most Android users are unlikely to be affected, given the limited footprint of Instant Apps in the broader ecosystem.