# Jaival Suthar - Prefetching at Scale: Why Instagram Works Without Internet — A Deep Dive Into Predictive Caching (Highlights)
## Metadata
**Review**:: [readwise.io](https://readwise.io/bookreview/61993990)
**Source**:: #from/readwise #from/reader
**Zettel**:: #zettel/fleeting
**Status**:: #x
**Authors**:: [[Jaival Suthar]]
**Full Title**:: Prefetching at Scale: Why Instagram Works Without Internet — A Deep Dive Into Predictive Caching
**Category**:: #articles #readwise/articles
**Category Icon**:: 📰
**Document Tags**:: #work
**URL**:: [medium.com](https://medium.com/@jaivalsuthar/prefetching-at-scale-why-instagram-works-without-internet-a-deep-dive-into-predictive-caching-b58fc8332c4e)
**Host**:: [[medium.com]]
**Highlighted**:: [[2026-07-12]]
**Created**:: [[2026-07-18]]
## Highlights
- Modern mobile applications face a brutal constraint: network latency is unpredictable, often exceeding 200–500ms on cellular connections, yet human perception registers delays above 100ms as sluggishness. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxab3zjt105k3pn6zpewe8hy)) ^1033588775
- Instagram’s prefetching mechanism operates across multiple storage layers, each with different performance characteristics and capacity constraints. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxab5gh59kh244x0sqrab3b3)) ^1033588788
- Failed writes retry with exponential backoff (1s, 2s, 4s, 8s…) to avoid hammering the server ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxabrjnvg370ahksjsmp9tx5)) ^1033589479
- Prefetch optimizes for the scroll path, not just engagement. The algorithm must answer: “In what order will the user consume content, and how far will they scroll?” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxabt8zgh0p9q3hf45tft7rj)) ^1033589518
- The pattern generalizes: **when latency is unacceptable but access patterns are predictable, push data flow from pull-based to prediction-based**. Accept the overhead of incorrect predictions in exchange for eliminating latency on correct predictions. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kxabvbt46j7bqq8jamjt7nej)) ^1033589541