Earlier this month, Instagram announced that they are getting rid of its separate IGTV app in favour of its push for Reels on the main app. Now, it’s been reported that two of Instagram’s other standalone apps—Boomerang and Hyperlapse—have disappeared from the App Store and Google Play.
Instagram did not officially announce that it was getting rid of these two standalone apps like it did for IGTV. However, according to Apptopia data shared with TechCrunch, both apps’ last day in the stores was 1 March. An Instagram spokesperson also confirmed the removal.
“We’ve removed support for the standalone Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps to better focus our efforts on the main app… Boomerang is still supported in-app in Stories, and Layout remains a standalone app in the Store. We’ll continue working on new ways for people to be creative and have fun on Instagram,” said the spokesperson.
If you’re not familiar with Boomerang, it was an app created to make short, looping videos—mostly used to post on Instagram Stories. After its release in 2015, it became extremely popular but has since been more of a forgotten feature. I mean… it’s so 2015…
However, if you still absolutely miss it, you’re still able to use it on the main Instagram app through Stories. Boomerang can be seen as a Stories option, along with other options like Multi-capture, Hands-free, and Layout.
As for Hyperlapse, I’m personally not as familiar with this one. But it apparently lets you “make professional-looking time-lapse videos” and even offered impressive video stabilization. Back then, clips from the stock camera app would often look pretty shaky, but Hyperlapse clips were much smoother. Nowadays, smartphone hardware is far more capable of video stabilisation. You won’t be able to see a Hyperlapse option on Stories, either.
While Boomerang and Hyperlapse have been removed from the App Store and Google Play, Instagram’s Layout app (iOS, Android) is still available. The app lets you organise photos into collages, and you can additionally use it on the main app as well. I have a feeling that it won’t be long before Layout disappears too.
