Instagram launches new missing photos app called Instants

Instagram is once again tackling the ephemeral photo format with a new feature called Instants. It’s available in the main Instagram app as well as a new dedicated app, also called Instants.

The idea here is to take and share photos spontaneously. Kind of like Instagram used to be before it became the hub of influencers. These photos disappear once your friends – who can react and respond to the images – see them. They will stay in your archives for up to a year and you can share them as stories later by compiling them into a summary.

In the main Instagram app, you can access Snaps from your DM inbox by tapping the photo stack in the bottom right corner. The only way to edit snapshots is to add a caption. There are no editing tools or filters here. You also can’t upload photos from your camera roll.

You can then choose who you want to share one of these photos with (either close or mutual friends) and then send them. There’s an undo button that gives you a moment to change your mind and delete a snapshot before your friends see it.

As for your friends’ snapshots, you can put them on hold by holding the icon in your inbox and swiping to the right. Swipe the other way to start seeing them again.

As for the dedicated Instants application, Instagram claims to have tested it in certain countries on iOS and Android. “We’ve been testing Snapshots for a while and heard that people wanted a quicker, easier way to access the camera,” the company said in a blog post. It’s almost an admission that Instagram’s main app is way too bloated. (It absolutely is.)

The Instants feature and app also uses all of Instagram’s normal security and privacy protections, including blocking and muting other users. Parental controls for teen accounts on Instagram proper are automatically applied to snaps, including timeshare limits, safety tools (such as a block on screenshots and screen recordings), and restricted access by default between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The parent of a teen with a supervised account will receive a notification when the teen downloads the Instants app.

This is not the first time that Instagram has attacked Snapchat (with incredible success with its stories) and BeReal. In 2014, it rolled out an app called Bolt that allowed people to quickly share photos with friends. Four years ago, Instagram released a BeReal clone called Candid Stories.