Improving Performance with Background Data Prefetching
Article Summary
Instagram serves 800 million monthly users, 80% outside the US. How do you make the app feel instant for everyone, regardless of network quality?
Instagram Engineering shares how they built a centralized background data prefetching system that loads content before users need it. The framework now powers Explore, Stories, and the main feed.
Key Takeaways
- Built centralized framework flexible enough to adapt across different content types
- Leveraged existing offline mode cache infrastructure to store prefetched content
- Decouples app usability from network availability while minimizing cellular data usage
- Separate endpoint returns newest 20 feed items not in view state
- Prioritizes content based on user behavior patterns and available resources
Critical Insight
Background prefetching dramatically improved perceived app speed across Instagram's core features without negatively impacting battery life or data usage.
