App Clips and Instant Apps: The 10MB Challenge

The Concept

A small part of your app that is discoverable at the moment it is needed. Pay for parking, order food, rent a scooter.

iOS App Clips: Max 10MB (strictly enforced). Android Instant Apps: Max 15MB (technically can be larger but user friction increases).

NFC tags, QR codes, Safari Smart App Banners, Maps integration, iMessage shared links.

No background processing. No access to HealthKit or sensitive user data. Login must be simple (Sign in with Apple).

The goal is acquisition. Show a subtle "Download Full App" banner. If they install, data should persist from the clip to the full app.

Mandatory. Users won't type credit card info into a temporary app. One-tap payment is the core UX.

Lime Scooters (scan to ride), Yelp (order food), TikTok (watch video shared link without install).