The What, Why, and How of Mastering App Size
Article Summary
Spotify's mobile apps generated 930+ petabytes of network traffic in 2022, equivalent to 65,000 tons of CO2 emissions. Their solution? A comprehensive app size management system that's both environmentally conscious and user-focused.
Spotify's engineering team breaks down their multi-layered approach to controlling app size across iOS and Android. With 20 billion app updates annually and users in emerging markets on devices with as little as 16GB storage, they've built automated checks, team attribution systems, and policy frameworks to balance feature development with size constraints.
Key Takeaways
- Every 6MB app size increase reduces install conversion rate by 1%
- Pre-merge CI checks block PRs over 50KB without approval
- Team attribution dashboard tracks each module's size contribution over time
- Reducing app size by 1MB saves 560 tons of CO2 annually
- Emerge Tools integration provides automated size analysis on every pull request
Spotify reduced total PR size by roughly 20MB through automated checks, team accountability dashboards, and a formal exception process that requires business impact justification for size increases.
