Meta has launched Instants, a new Instagram feature that allows users to share candid, unedited photos that disappear once viewed. The feature went live globally on Wednesday.
Snapshots appear in the bottom right corner of a user’s Instagram inbox, appearing as a small stack of photos. Users tap the camera, take a photo in real time and send it to their close friends or mutual followers. No filters. No modifications. Subtitles are allowed, but nothing else.
Once a friend views the photo, it disappears. If no one sees it, it expires after 24 hours. Friends cannot capture or save snapshots.
“No edits, no pressure, just life as it happens,” Meta said in his announcement.
Recipients can react with emojis or respond via DM. They can also return an Instant. Shared snapshots are saved privately in the sender’s archives for up to one year and can then be compiled into a roundup and posted to Instagram Stories.
An undo button appears immediately after sending, giving users a brief window to retake a snapshot before anyone sees it.
Alongside the Instagram feature, Meta is also testing a standalone Instants app in select countries on iOS and Android. The app opens directly on the camera for faster access and uses an existing Instagram connection. Snapshots shared through the app appear on Instagram for friends, and vice versa.
“We are trying this separate app to see how our community uses it,” Meta said.
Tessa Lyons-Laing, Instagram’s vice president of product, said The United States today that Gen Z users are five times more likely to use casual features like Notes than older users, indicating that the meta demographic is clearly targeting this launch.
Teen accounts come with full Family Center protections, including timeshare limits, sleep mode between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and parental notification the first time a teen downloads the standalone app.
Analysts are already drawing comparisons to Snapchat and BeReal. TechCrunch noted that while Instagram was once built around sharing moments with friends, it has gradually become dominated by influencer content and ads. Moments appear to be a deliberate attempt to draw users back into informal, private interactions.
Whether it works is another question. BeReal built its entire identity around unfiltered photo sharing and has since lost much of its momentum. Instagram is betting that integrating the same idea into a platform with more than two billion users will end up differently.
Instants is available globally on Instagram starting today.
