Meta today announced the launch of Instants, a new image sharing option on the social network Instagram. Snapshots are ephemeral photos that disappear from Instagram after being viewed by a user’s friends or after a 24-hour period.
Reactions and replies to snapshots appear in DMs rather than on the post. Snapshots are only displayed for a short time, but they are saved in a user’s archive for a year and can be reshared in Stories. Snapshots cannot be edited, with no option for filters, stickers, or edits beyond captions. This sets them apart from Stories, which is already a feature of Instagram.
Instants is a feature of Instagram, but Meta has also developed a standalone Instants companion app “for quicker access to the camera.” The standalone application is a direct competitor to Snapchat, the first social network for ephemeral images. The new app can be used to share snapshots, but on Instagram, users can also share snapshots from a new camera option in the Direct Messages section of the app.
Snapshots can be viewed on Instagram by opening DMs and tapping the new Snapshots area in the bottom right corner of the inbox. Photos can be shared with friends defined as close or mutual friends, i.e. followers an Instagram user follows. Snapshots cannot be captured or saved on screen, which provides privacy features not available with other types of Instagram images.
Meta says Snapshots are designed for casual, everyday photos. The standalone app is limited to certain countries, as Meta says it’s an experiment. Images shared on the Instants app will appear to friends on Instagram, and images shared on Instagram will appear in the Instants app.
Snaps on Instagram are available worldwide starting today, and the app is also available for download in countries where it is supported.
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