The new “OG App” has already been removed from the Apple App Store. This week, we took a look at the new Instagram client, OG App, that has caught the attention of the internet by promising a better Instagram experience free of advertising and content suggestions.
The increasingly popular app has now been taken down. Though, it may not be for the reasons you think, and it may not be because of the people you would expect.
OG App Removed from the Apple App Store
The new OG App has officially seen removal from the Apple App Store. At the time of its removal, the OG App was sitting at around 10,000 downloads, and reached the 50th place in the most downloaded apps in the App Store.
Due to this somewhat surprising removal, the developers took to Twitter to voice their complaints:
Apple wants you to think they care about privacy more than any other tech company. They don’t. Apple would rather spinelessly submit to Facebook’s whim than do right by you.
While it was unclear at the time exactly why the OG App saw removal from the App Store, today Apple has provided some reasoning. According to reports, Apple claims that the app saw removal from the App Store due to the OG App using Instagram’s API in a way that breaks the terms of service with Meta, as well as App Store policies.
Additionally, Apple also stated that it found that the OG App was using Instagram’s service in an authorized manner. Apple stated that this both violates the App Store Review Guidelines as well as Instagram’s terms of use. The company also warned that the app may have possibly exposed Instagram users’ accounts to privacy and security vulnerabilities.
Breakin’ the Law, Breakin’ the Law
As evidence, Apple did refer to the App Store Review Guideline, specifically section 5.2.2, which states:
Make sure your app only includes content that you created or that you have a license to use. Your app may be removed if you’ve stepped over the line and used content without permission.
If your app uses, accesses, monetizes access to, or displays content from a third-party service, ensure that you are specifically permitted to do so under the service’s terms of use. Authorization must be provided upon request.
However, the issue does grow a bit more complicated, as both developers Ansh Nanda and Hardik Patil both claim to have their personal Facebook and Instagram accounts banned after the ordeal. Within their Twitter thread, the two also note that others apps replicates Instagram’s experience. However, it is up to how these apps implement Instagram’s API that would determine whether or not said apps are breaking any official guidelines.
With the removal of the OG App from the official App Store, it is no longer available to download. Users that have downloaded the app will note that it will eventually stop working as Meta cuts off access to the Instagram API.
Did you get a chance to use OG App? Let us know in the comments.