Instagram

Social

7.2~~/10~~

Our score

★ 4.0 Google Play·5B+ installs

Reviewed by Editorial Team, ScoredApps editorial · updated 2026-10-03

Screenshots

Reels tab showing a video by marijmusa liked by alex and 1,428 others

Full-screen reel from matisse.world with like, comment and share counters

Comments sheet over a reel with an emoji reaction row above the input

Story composer with a text caption and a Close friends sharing button

Study Group message thread with a shared reel and read receipts

Home feed with the stories row above a post carrying 36.2K likes

About Instagram

Instagram runs three products in one app: a photo feed, a Reels tab that behaves like a rival video service, and direct messages that carry much of the traffic. Every account belonging to a teenager now starts inside Teen Accounts, private by default and filtered to PG-13 standards. On iPhone the download has grown to 607 MB, heavier than any other social app most people carry.

App information

DeveloperInstagram, Inc.

Version446.0.0.49.77 (Android) · 445.0.0 (iOS)

Size140.5 MB (Android) · 607 MB (iOS)

Price / In-appFree

Contains adsYes

In-app purchasesYes

Content rating13+

Requires (Android)Android 8.0+

Requires (iOS)iOS 16.3+

Offline modeNone — feed, Reels and messages all need a connection

Interface languagesBN, HR, CS, DA, NL, EN + 33 more

Store rating (Google Play)4.0 from 169,523,324 ratings

Installs5B+

Updated by developer2026-08-31

Data checked2026-09-07

Specs come from the official store listings and were last checked on 2026-09-07. Developers change pricing and requirements — check the store page before installing.

Instagram Review: Teen Accounts Changed the Defaults

Teen Accounts Sleep From 10 PM to 7 AM

A teenager signing up lands in the strictest messaging setting, able to receive DMs only from people they follow or are already connected to, with the profile private by default for everyone under 16. After 60 minutes in a day the app tells them to leave, and sleep mode runs from 10 PM to 7 AM, muting notifications and auto-replying to messages. Content follows PG-13 rating standards, with a stricter Limited Content option for parents who want less. Under-16s cannot loosen any of it without a parent's permission, and supervising parents see who their teen messaged in the past seven days — the names, not the messages.

Meta Verified Costs $14.99 in the App, $11.99 on the Web

The one subscription here buys a verified badge, impersonation monitoring and account support, and its price depends on where you buy it: $11.99 a month through a browser against $14.99 inside the iOS or Android app, the app-store commission passed straight to the buyer. Nothing else is paywalled — posting, Reels, Stories and messaging cost nothing, and the money runs the other direction. The Play listing carries a Contains ads badge, and advertising appears in the feed, between Reels and inside Stories. Prices are US listings and vary by country.

14 Data Categories and a Map That Starts Switched Off

On the data side, the Google Play safety card lists 14 collected categories — location and personal information among them — and states that personal information and device identifiers may be shared with third parties. Location also powers the Instagram map, opened from the top of the DM inbox, which shares nothing until you opt in, and then only with the audience you pick — friends who follow you back, Close Friends, a hand-picked list or no one. Once on, the shared location refreshes each time the app opens, and specific places or people can be excluded. Google Play counts more than five billion installs, so a default set in this app reaches an unusually large share of the phones in the world.

Pros

Teen accounts start private, with messaging limited to known contacts
Sleep mode mutes notifications between 10 PM and 7 AM
Parents can see who a teen messaged over seven days
Feed, Reels, Stories and messages live in one app
The verified badge costs $3 less bought on the web

Cons

607 MB on iPhone, heavier than any rival social app
Fourteen collected data categories, some shared with third parties
Ads run in the feed, between Reels and inside Stories
Suggested posts in the home feed can only be snoozed for 30 days

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Verdict

Keep it if the people you want to reach are here — the feed, Reels and DMs in one app remain hard to replace, and teen defaults are genuinely stricter than they were two years ago. Weigh it if storage or data collection matters: 607 MB on iPhone, 14 categories collected and personal information shared with third parties. Parents should set supervision up when the account is created, not after a problem appears.

Core function8.5Feed, short video and messaging each work well enough that most people never leave the app.

Ease of use8.0Four surfaces share one navigation bar, though Reels and the feed increasingly blur together.

Monetisation7.0Everything social is free; ads sit in the feed and the badge costs $14.99 in-app.

Performance6.5A 607 MB install, and video-heavy surfaces drain battery faster than the messaging tab.

Privacy & permissions4.5Fourteen collected data categories and third-party sharing; map location stays off until you opt in.

7.2out of 10 · weighted average of the five scores above

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Frequently asked questions

Is Instagram free?

Yes. Posting, Reels, Stories and messaging cost nothing, and there is no tier that unlocks features. Advertising pays for it, which the Google Play listing confirms with a Contains ads badge. The only optional purchase is Meta Verified, a subscription for a badge and account support rather than for anything in the app itself.

What is a Teen Account?

It is the default profile for anyone under 18. Messaging is restricted to people the teen already follows, the profile is private for under-16s, content follows PG-13 standards, a reminder to leave appears after 60 minutes, and sleep mode mutes notifications from 10 PM to 7 AM. Under-16s need a parent's permission to change any of it.

How much is Meta Verified?

For creators in the United States it is $11.99 a month bought on the web and $14.99 bought inside the iOS or Android app — the same subscription, with the app-store cut added. It covers a verified badge, monitoring for impersonating accounts and account support. Prices differ by country and change without warning.

How do you take a break without deleting everything?

Deactivation hides the profile, photos and comments until you log back in, and it sits in Accounts Center under Deactivation or deletion. It can be used once a week. Permanent deletion is the separate option in the same menu and does not come back, so the reversible one is worth trying first.

What are the alternatives?

TikTok is the closer match for the Reels half and pushes recommendations harder. Snapchat covers the messaging half with disappearing photos and a friend map. Neither offers the same combination of public profile, short video and DMs in one place, which is why most people keep this one installed.