Instagram launches Instants, a new app for sharing daily moments
Do you love viewing your friends' Instants on Instagram? The feature for sharing raw moments to your followers now has its standalone app.
On May 13, Meta rolled out Instants, which works similarly to apps like Snapchat and BeReal in that the photos disappear immediately after you view them.
The new app, according to Instagram, makes it easier to share moments with friends as they happen.
Instants live in the bottom right corner of your Instagram inbox. The way it works is simple: Just snap a pic, and it will automatically be shared to your intended audience of either close friends or mutuals. No editing or adding music to give the photo a raw, as-it-happens vibe.
Your followers can react, reply, and share instants with you as well. Afterward, your photo disappears, and people can't take a screenshot of it. How it differs from Instagram Stories is that you cannot check who viewed your post.
In the separate Instants app, you get quicker access to your camera. When you open the app, you're instantly taken to your shooter, The layout is minimal, too, as there are only buttons for switching the camera and turning flash on or off.
You can view your past Instants by tapping on the icon at the top-right side of the screen. There, you'll be able to save or delete past posts.
In its testing, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that users "tend to use Instants to share much more casual, much more authentic moments about their day."
"And we know this type of sharing of personal moments with friends is a core part of what makes Instagram Instagram. But we also know a lot of people don't share a lot to their profile grids anymore," he said in a video.
"So we're always looking for new ways like Instants to get people to connect [with] personal content with the people that matter to them most."
Users can share and view Instants in Instagram and in the new dedicated app.
