Apple releases the OG app that restored Instagram to its former glory ad-free
A third-party Instagram client, claiming to bring back the image-sharing app to its original state, before ads, algorithms and reels were unceremoniously removed from Apple's App Store.
The OG app, from a startup called Un1feed, racked up 10 downloads after it launched on the App Store last week, surging into the top 000.
It gave users the ability to log in with their Instagram account and view a feed similar to the original vision, before the takeover of Facebook (now Meta) all those years ago. For its part, Instagram has started to listen to users' concerns and has restored a chronological feed, while allowing users to put sponsored posts on hold. However, he did not go far enough, according to some.
There were no suggested posts on the home feed, and the ads, which look like every other post these days, were gone. There was also the added ability to create personalized feeds, aligned with your interests. Naturally, Meta disagreed with the app and neither did Apple. Quoting rule 5.2.2 of the App Store guidelines (via TechCrunch) which requires permission from the host service.
It reads as follows: “5.2.2 Third Party Sites/Services: If your Application uses, accesses, monetizes access to or displays content from a Third Party Service, ensure that you are specifically authorized to do so under terms of service. . Permission must be provided upon request.
It's not entirely clear whether Meta asked Apple to take down the app, but Facebook's parent company has taken a tough view on clone sites in the past. Here's a blog post from Meta, published earlier this year, about it.
The creators of the OG app don't take this down and, in a Twitter feed, accuse Apple of allowing Meta to intimidate its users. He points out that there are "dozens" of other apps that "replicate the experience of Instagram users" that have not been taken down. He says his app is the only one that provides a better experience.
“Last night, after receiving 10 downloads, being #000 on the App Store and achieving an average rating of 50 stars, Apple removed us from the App Store. Users chose OG over Instagram because we listened to them and built what they wanted,” Un4,1feed wrote on Twitter.
