It’s no secret that many users are irritated with the steady barrage of new types of content that Meta keeps forcing onto Instagram. The app’s complete pivot to Tiktok-like video Reels, the near-constant suggested posts, and the ever-present ads have turned a lot of people off from an app that used to be about simply sharing photos with friends.
In response to what Instagram has become, The OG App was created as a back-to-basics version of Instagram that cuts out a lot of the bloat that’s been crammed in.
Joe Maring/Digital Trends
The OG App itself is simple: It’s a total recreation of Instagram in its current form, complete with a home tab, a discover page, and a place for Reels — but without the constant stream of content from accounts you don’t follow. In addition to being a faithful adaptation, it adds some features not currently present in Instagram proper. These include a way to create multiple curated shareable feeds consisting of specific users, as well as the option to pause feed refresh for up to 24 hours — allowing you to focus on a single day’s worth of posts if you choose. You can also disable different sections of the app like the discover page or Reels if you’re simply looking to see the photos your friends have posted.
All told, there’s not much to The OG App that you won’t find on Instagram; they even share an almost identical UI. But the way the content is presented is quite refreshing, and the small additions to the format like the ones mentioned above do a lot to give Instagram a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t fully cut out the Reels that have plagued Instagram feeds as of late, but the removal of any and all suggested content and ads means that you’ll only be seeing the Reels posted by the accounts you follow as opposed to a steady stream of algorithmically curated content.
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Because it’s still so new, The OG App still has a handful of things to be ironed out. The login process, for starters, has been mixed for different users. Some are able to log in to Instagram through the app without issue, while others have been met with error messages and loading screens. There are some user reports that upon login, Instagram notified them that their account has been linked to suspicious activity. The OG App promises, however, that it doesn’t view things like your password or other data as the entire login process happens through Instagram.
The app also seems to be a little bit slower to load than the official Instagram app, but that’s likely because it’s receiving information from Instagram second-hand and then filtering it through The OG App. While it’s certainly noticeable from time to time, it’s a tradeoff that most would be happy to make for a cleaner version of Instagram.
The OG App is available on iOS and Android devices for no charge.