Instagram Rolls Out Instants Globally to Rival Snapchat’s Disappearing Photo Feature
Instagram has globally launched Instants, a new feature that allows users to share unedited, disappearing photos with close friends and mutual followers. In addition, Meta is rolling out a separate Instants app in selected countries, including the United States.
The launch marks Instagram’s latest move into casual photo sharing. Moreover, it creates a direct challenge to Snapchat, which helped popularise disappearing photo and video messages more than a decade ago.
How Instants works
Instants appears as a small photo stack in the bottom right corner of the Instagram direct message inbox. When users tap it, the camera opens immediately for quick photo capture.
However, the feature does not allow editing or camera roll uploads. Users can only add text captions before sending the photo.
Photos can be viewed once and disappear after 24 hours. In addition, recipients cannot take screenshots or screen recordings of Instants.
Recipients can react with emojis, reply through direct messages, or send an Instant in return. Meanwhile, Instagram keeps shared Instants in a private archive visible only to the sender for up to one year.
Users can also turn archived Instants into a recap and post it on Instagram Stories. Furthermore, an undo button lets senders delete an Instant before the recipient opens it.
Instagram targets casual sharing
Instants has been under development for several months. In February, reports indicated that Meta was working on an internal prototype for a standalone disappearing-photo app.
The feature later developed from an earlier Instagram test called “Shots,” which focused on no-edit photo sharing inside direct messages. Subsequently, Meta tested the standalone Instants app in Spain and Italy in late April on both iOS and Android.
“To give people low-pressure ways to connect with friends, we’re testing an app called Instants to share casual photos and videos in the moment,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch in April.
The standalone app also includes a homescreen widget. As a result, Instagram appears to be targeting younger users who already engage with casual-sharing apps such as Locket and Airbuds.
The launch also invites comparisons with Snapchat, BeReal, and Locket. These platforms built strong appeal around spontaneous and authentic sharing.
However, Instagram enters this trend at a different stage. BeReal’s popularity has slowed, while many users already use Instagram Stories for informal updates.
Even so, Instagram’s large user base gives Instants a major advantage. Therefore, the feature could help Instagram bring more private, casual sharing back into its own platform.
