Today, Instagram announced an app called Layout from Instagram. It’s described as “a new app that lets you easily combine multiple photos into a single image.” In 2012, I released an Apple Editors’ Choice app called Layout that lets you combine multiple photos into a single image. It was even named an App Store Best of 2012 app. Is it just me, or does it seem insincere for Instagram to release a similar app with the exact same name only differentiated by the inclusion of their company name? Do you think they’d be okay with me releasing an app called “Instagram from Juicy Bits?” Neither do I.
If you’ve been following the app business for any length of time, this probably reminds you of Facebook’s Paper app, released well after Paper by FiftyThree (which was Apple’s 2012 iPad App of the Year). Of course, we all know that Facebook bought Instagram in 2012. It looks like they’re at it again.
Look, I’m an indie iOS developer with apps that are nowhere near as popular as Instagram (or Facebook). I struggle to make people aware of my apps, as it’s my full-time and only job. I pour blood, sweat, and passion into my work; I consider it a craft, and delighting customers is my primary focus. I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me, because I’ve purposely chosen to be an indie developer, and I love what I do. Honestly, the struggle is part of the fun.
You might think I’d be happy that some people will inadvertently come across my Layout app and buy it, confident that they’re buying the Instagram app (actually, I first heard about the new Instagram app from an article that incorrectly linked to my Layout app). While I like sales as much as any independent developer, I don’t like sales that I haven’t earned. And I certainly don’t like sales where customers are confused. I’m sure I’ll hear from many who didn’t get what they expected, and that will lead to one-star reviews and refunds.
Some of you are probably wondering if I registered Layout as a trademark. I didn’t. While being an indie developer is no excuse, filing for a trademark is an expense that didn’t seem worth it at the time, especially given the income from an average app (to be fair, Layout did end up doing much better than I expected). I’ve relied on common app naming courtesy and the desire to avoid obvious confusion. It takes a lot of time and effort to find a unique app name, and most developers seem to follow these rules.
In this case, I’m sure that Instagram first tried to register Layout as the app name. When the App Store rejected the name as already in use, they simply tacked on “from Instagram” to pass the uniqueness test. The fact that they made this decision willingly and decided to release it under that name anyway—all-the-while knowing that it would cause confusion with an existing app—is what makes me sad.
I know it’s naïve to think that everyone in our community of software developers will do the right thing, but I’d like to think that most of the well-known companies in our industry would recognize their leadership roles and lead by example.
For what it’s worth, I like Instagram, and I’m a frequent Facebook user. I don’t have anywhere near their resources, and I’m not interested in a fight. I’d like them to do the right thing: use the same time, effort, and energy to make a unique contribution instead of squatting on an existing name that they already know is confusing.
Update on 3/25/2015: As expected, I’ve already received e-mail from confused users who thought they were getting a different app. There are now multiple news stories that incorrectly link to my app page too. Confusion all around.
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