DW_Insta - Instagram Clone Android Application

Overview

DW_Insta is a fully-functional Instagram-inspired Android application built with Java and Firebase. This project demonstrates modern Android development practices including user authentication, real-time messaging, image sharing, and social networking features.

Package: com.kaywalker.newone

Demo

DW_Insta_01.mp4

Key Features

User Management

Email/password authentication
Google Sign-In integration
User profile management with avatar upload
Profile viewing and editing

Social Features

Photo feed with real-time updates
Image upload with caption support
User discovery and search
Follow/unfollow functionality

Messaging

Direct messaging between users
Real-time chat synchronization
Message history persistence

Media Management

Gallery integration for photo selection
Full-screen image viewing
Image optimization and caching
Profile picture upload and management

Technical Stack

Core Technologies

Language: Java 1.8
SDK: Compile/Target SDK 32, Minimum SDK 23 (Android 6.0)
Build System: Gradle 7.x

Firebase Services

Authentication: Email/password and Google Sign-In
Realtime Database: User data and messaging storage
Cloud Storage: Profile images and content storage

Key Libraries

Library	Version	Purpose
Glide	4.13.0	Primary image loading and caching
Picasso	2.8	Image loading support
Firebase Auth	latest	User authentication
Firebase Database	latest	Real-time data synchronization
Firebase Storage	latest	Cloud file storage
Material Components	latest	Modern UI components

Architecture

Application Flow

IntroActivity (Splash)
    ↓
MainActivity (Login/Registration)
    ↓
CenterActivity (Main Hub)
    ├── Frag_Home (Feed)
    ├── Frag_Board (Gallery)
    ├── Frag_Profile (User Profile)
    └── Frag_List (User Discovery)

Core Components

Activities:

IntroActivity: Splash screen with app initialization
MainActivity: Authentication gateway (login/signup)
CenterActivity: Main navigation hub with bottom navigation
AddActivity: Content upload interface
ChatActivity: Direct messaging screen
UserActivity: Profile viewing screen
FullScreenActivity: Full-screen image viewer

Fragments:

Frag_Home: Main feed displaying user posts
Frag_Board: Gallery view of all images
Frag_Profile: User profile management
Frag_List: User discovery and search

Data Models:

UserAccount: User profile information
Image: Post content and metadata
ChatDTO: Chat message data
dataholder: Temporary data transfer

Firebase Database Structure

firebase-root/
├── Users/
│   └── [userId]/
│       ├── name
│       ├── email
│       ├── profileImageUrl
│       └── ...
├── Posts/
│   └── [postId]/
│       ├── imageUrl
│       ├── caption
│       ├── userId
│       └── timestamp
└── Chats/
    └── [chatId]/
        ├── messages
        └── participants

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Android Studio Arctic Fox or newer
JDK 1.8 or higher
Android SDK 32
Firebase account and project setup
Google Sign-In credentials (OAuth 2.0)

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/kaywalker91/Android_DW_Insta.git
cd Android_DW_Insta

Firebase Configuration

Create a new Firebase project at Firebase Console
Enable Authentication (Email/Password and Google Sign-In)
Enable Realtime Database
Enable Cloud Storage
Download google-services.json and place it in app/ directory

Configure Google Sign-In

Enable Google Sign-In in Firebase Authentication
Add SHA-1 and SHA-256 fingerprints to Firebase project
Download updated google-services.json

Build the project

# Install dependencies
./gradlew build

# Run debug build
./gradlew installDebug

Development Commands

# Build APK
./gradlew assembleDebug          # Debug APK
./gradlew assembleRelease        # Release APK

# Testing
./gradlew test                   # Unit tests
./gradlew connectedAndroidTest   # Instrumented tests

# Installation
./gradlew installDebug           # Install debug build on device

# Clean build
./gradlew clean

Configuration

Required Permissions

The app requires the following permissions (declared in AndroidManifest.xml):

INTERNET: Network communication
READ_PHONE_STATE: Device information
READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: Gallery access
WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE: File storage (SDK < 29)

FileProvider Configuration

Authority: com.kaywalker.newone

Configured for secure file sharing between app and external apps (camera, gallery).

Usage

First-Time Setup

Launch the app
Create an account or sign in with Google
Set up your profile with name and profile picture
Grant necessary permissions when prompted

Main Features Usage

Upload a Photo:

Tap the "+" button in the bottom navigation
Select an image from gallery
Add a caption (optional)
Tap "Upload"

Direct Messaging:

Navigate to a user's profile
Tap the message icon
Send messages in real-time

View Feed:

Home tab shows posts from all users
Scroll to load more content
Tap images for full-screen view

Manage Profile:

Profile tab shows your posts and information
Edit profile to update name and avatar
View your post history

Project Structure

app/src/main/
├── java/com/kaywalker/newone/
│   ├── activities/
│   │   ├── IntroActivity.java
│   │   ├── MainActivity.java
│   │   ├── CenterActivity.java
│   │   ├── AddActivity.java
│   │   ├── ChatActivity.java
│   │   ├── UserActivity.java
│   │   └── FullScreenActivity.java
│   ├── fragments/
│   │   ├── Frag_Home.java
│   │   ├── Frag_Board.java
│   │   ├── Frag_Profile.java
│   │   └── Frag_List.java
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── UserAccount.java
│   │   ├── Image.java
│   │   ├── ChatDTO.java
│   │   └── dataholder.java
│   └── adapters/
│       └── [RecyclerView adapters]
├── res/
│   ├── layout/
│   ├── drawable/
│   └── values/
└── AndroidManifest.xml

Firebase Security Rules

Database Rules (Recommended)

{
  "rules": {
    "Users": {
      "$uid": {
        ".read": "auth != null",
        ".write": "$uid === auth.uid"
      }
    },
    "Posts": {
      ".read": "auth != null",
      ".write": "auth != null"
    }
  }
}

Storage Rules (Recommended)

service firebase.storage {
  match /b/{bucket}/o {
    match /profile_images/{userId}/{allPaths=**} {
      allow read: if request.auth != null;
      allow write: if request.auth != null && request.auth.uid == userId;
    }
    match /post_images/{allPaths=**} {
      allow read: if request.auth != null;
      allow write: if request.auth != null;
    }
  }
}

Known Issues & Limitations

Minimum SDK 23 (Android 6.0+) required
Google Sign-In requires proper SHA fingerprint configuration
Storage permissions needed for Android 10 and below
Image upload size may be limited by Firebase Storage quotas

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

# Clean build artifacts
./gradlew clean
./gradlew build --refresh-dependencies

Firebase Connection Issues

Verify google-services.json is in app/ directory
Check Firebase project configuration
Ensure Firebase dependencies are up to date
Verify internet connectivity

Google Sign-In Issues

Confirm SHA-1 and SHA-256 fingerprints are added to Firebase
Download updated google-services.json after adding fingerprints
Check OAuth 2.0 client ID configuration

Permission Errors

Grant storage permissions in device settings
For Android 11+, check scoped storage compatibility

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To contribute:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

Follow Java coding conventions
Add comments for complex logic
Test on multiple Android versions
Update documentation for new features

Testing

Unit Tests

./gradlew test

Instrumented Tests

./gradlew connectedAndroidTest

Requires a connected device or emulator.

License

This project is open-source and available for educational purposes.

Authors

kaywalker91 - Initial development
claude - Documentation and enhancements

Acknowledgments

Firebase for backend infrastructure
Glide and Picasso for image loading
Material Design components
Android Developer community

Contact

For questions or support, please open an issue on GitHub.

Note: This is an educational project demonstrating Android development practices. For production use, implement additional security measures, error handling, and optimization.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 11 Commits
.idea		.idea
app		app
docs		docs
gradle/wrapper		gradle/wrapper
.gitignore		.gitignore
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
README.md		README.md
build.gradle		build.gradle
gradle.properties		gradle.properties
gradlew		gradlew
gradlew.bat		gradlew.bat
settings.gradle		settings.gradle

kaywalker91/Android_DW_Insta

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