App segments: A sentiment analysis study of Reddit posts discussing Instant Apps and App Clips

Abstract: Google’s Instant Apps and Apple’s App Clips are technologies that enable small segments of full scale apps to run on a mobile device, without needing to have the app installed. By restricting the size of these segments, they are able to download and run almost instantly. Marketed as an effective way to order food, rent bikes, and pay for parking, the technology has not been widely adopted. Furthermore, publicly available research on the topic is very limited. In this study, attitudes towards Instant Apps and App Clips found in user submitted posts on Reddit were examined. By conducting a sentiment analysis, the aim is to gain insight into how the opinions on these technologies have changed over time since their introduction. The results show that the sentiment has become slightly more positive over time. Additionally, differences in sentiment between the two technologies were found, but the limited number of data rows prevent the possibility of drawing reliable conclusions on this.