Instagram was announced on Wednesday globally launching “Instants,” a new feature for sharing authentic photos that disappears after testing with select users. The feature allows users to share disappearing photos with their close friends or mutual followers, which can only be viewed once and remain available for 24 hours.
The app borrows ideas from social platforms like Snapchat, Locket and BeReal as it focuses on authentic and ephemeral content.
Unlike Instagram, which is all about curated and polished content, Instants is designed for quick, real snaps. With Instants, you take a photo with Instagram’s in-app camera and you’re not allowed to edit the image. The format doesn’t allow uploads from your camera, and although you can add text to your ‘moments’, you can’t edit them further. Meta said in a blog post that the idea behind this format is to share authentic moments as they happen.
It’s worth noting that Meta is also testing the Instants format as a standalone app in select regions, including Spain and Italy.
You can take an Instant by tapping the mini stack of photos in the bottom right corner of your Instagram inbox. After sharing your Instant, recipients can react with emojis, reply, and send an Instant back. Meta notes that recipients cannot take screenshots or record Snapshots you’ve shared.
Instagram stores your shared Instants in a private file that you can view for up to a year. You can also compile Instants from your archive into a recap and post them to Instagram Stories.
If you accidentally shared an Instant, you can hit the undo button and delete an Instant from your archive to unsend it to friends who haven’t opened it yet.
And if you don’t want to receive Instants, you can tap and hold on the stack of Instants in your inbox and swipe right to temporarily stop receiving them. You can also choose to block or mute specific people.
Although Instagram started out as a way for friends to share moments with each other, the platform has gradually become flooded with influencer content and ads. With Instants, the company appears to be leaning back on more casual, private interactions that focus on sharing photos between circles of friends.
However, Instagram may be taking a while to tap into the trend of low-pressure, authentic photo sharing like BeReal not as popular as it once wasand many users already use Instagram Stories for quick, informal updates and may not see the need for a separate app and feature to do so.
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