OG app, what was your last game here? • TechCrunch


A few weeks ago, Apple removed the OG app from its app store, and today Google followed suit and pulled the app from its platform. And I’m left scratching my head wondering what the end game is for the OG app founders.

As far as I can tell, the company basically made a new version of Instagram that ditches the ads and brings in the non-algorithmic feed. Don’t get me wrong, I love that, but there’s no universe in which stealing a bunch of content from Meta (née Facebook), repackaging it, and feeding that content to users is a good idea. You see, businesses need to make money, and in Instagram’s case that means showing ads to its users.

“Everyone knows Instagram is bad. We made it better and got a lot of love from users. But Facebook hates its own users so much, it’s willing to crush the clean, ad-free option Instagram offers. Apple is matching Facebook to scare the two teenagers who made Instagram better.” The startup told TechCrunch in a statement to Evan Tarik.

And that’s where I’m left shaking my head – that’s not hating your users, it’s protecting the only way you can make money. Virtually every company in the world fights to protect the bottom line, and with a $360 billion market cap, wholesale stealing from a mega corporation is not a good way to build a startup.

The app — and its tens of thousands of downloads — does indicate one thing, though, which is that people are getting fed up with Instagram’s ad-heavy business, and according to Sarah’s recent report, things are only going to get worse. But if you don’t like it, your option is to stop using the offending platform and switch to another one.

The people behind the OG app will be very lucky if it turns out that pulling the app from the app store is a bad thing for them, and as much as I want to encourage young entrepreneurs, I’m confused why no one has stuck around for a long time and said “uhm, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”



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