Instagram has unveiled a new way of sharing called “Instants,” a new feature and standalone application designed to help users share life’s moments as they happen. The addition is part of Instagram’s broader effort to create an easier and more casual way for friends to stay connected in real time.
With Instants, users can quickly share everyday photos and moments that disappear once their friends have viewed them. The feature is aimed at encouraging spontaneous sharing without the pressure of editing or presenting a polished image online.
Instants lives in the bottom-right corner of the Instagram inbox, and sharing through the feature is designed to be simple and immediate. Users can tap the camera, capture a moment, and instantly share it with friends as life unfolds.
Here’s How You Can Send an Instant
- Go to your Instagram inbox and tap on the mini stack of photos in the bottom-right corner.
- You can add a caption, but Instants cannot be further edited.
- Choose who you want to share your Instant with, including Close Friends or mutual followers. Friends can reply to and react to your Instants.
- If you want to quickly retract a shared Instant, an undo button will appear immediately after sharing.
- Instants shared by users will appear as a stack of photos in the bottom-right corner of their friends’ inboxes and will disappear after being viewed.
A New Standalone Instants App
Instagram noted in its official blog that during testing, many users wanted a faster way to access the camera. To address this, Instagram is experimenting with a standalone Instants application in select countries.
The separate app provides direct access to the camera and allows users to log in using their existing Instagram accounts. Instants shared through the standalone app will also appear within Instagram for friends. The Instants app has currently been rolled out in select countries on both iOS and Android.
Built-In Safety and Privacy Features
Instagram says all of its existing safety and privacy protections will also extend to the Instants app. In-app controls such as Block, Mute, and Restrict will remain available across the platform.
Instants can only be viewed by people users choose to share them with, including Close Friends or mutual followers.
For teen users, the app will automatically integrate with Instagram Teen Accounts and parental supervision settings, requiring no additional setup. If parents already supervise a teen’s Instagram account, those controls will automatically extend to the Instants app as well.
Additional safeguards include shared time limits, Sleep Mode, screenshot restrictions, existing safety tools, and parental notifications.
