In the past few hours, Instagram has launched a new feature called Instants, available for now only in some selected countries – including Italy – which can also be used as a separate app for Android and iOS. The function in question allows you to share photos taken on the spot with your friends, which disappear after 24 hours and, unlike stories, can only be viewed once and cannot be modified: the app opens directly on the camera, pushing the user to share snapshots of their real life without filters and various retouches. In the next paragraphs let’s take a closer look at how it works, where the idea comes from and what we can expect from this new feature.
How the new Instagram snapshots feature was born
The new Instants function was born conceptually as an evolution of a function already present in the Instagram messages section, called “Shots” (or “shots” in Italian). Meta apparently has decided to give this method of content sharing greater centrality. The new feature is clearly inspired by various competing platforms: Snapchat, the social network famous for self-destructing messages; BeReal, the platform launched in 2020 that invites users to share candid, uncoated photos and Locket, an app that allows you to send photos directly to the home screen of your friends’ phones. The result is a hybrid that focuses entirely on authentic and ephemeral sharing (i.e. temporary and destined to disappear).
The Menlo Park giant has built part of its success by adapting other people’s successful ideas: Instagram Stories are an almost identical reproduction of Snapchat’s, while Reels are a direct response to the rise of TikTok. In both cases, the strategy worked. With Instants, however, the terrain is more slippery: BeReal, the platform that led the way in attempting to ride the wave of photographic spontaneity, experienced an explosion of popularity in 2022 only to then progressively lose users. This suggests that the point-shoot-send format, however interesting and based on authenticity, is struggling to resonate with users. We’ll see if Meta succeeds this time.
How Instants works for candid photos
Let’s now see how to use Instagram Instants. From a practical point of view, operation is simple. By opening the Instants app (available from both the Play Store and the App Store) or by accessing the dedicated section in the Instagram app (just touch the airplane icon and then the + in the gray box at the bottom right), we find ourselves directly in front of the camera.
From here you can select the audience to show the photo to (by touching the Friends icon and deciding whether to leave this option active or select the Closest friends option) and take the photo to share by pressing the shutter button (the white dot in the center of the screen). Stop. Sharing will be immediate and instantaneous, ready to be visible to recipients for a maximum of 24 hours and can only be opened once. After viewing, the content will permanently disappear. As authors of the photo, we will still be able to see the snapshots taken by pressing on the four squares at the top right.
Anyone who receives a photo of us can react with one of the proposed emojis or reply with a text message; in both cases we will receive a notification. However, we will not know who viewed our snapshots without interacting: this information is not available.
When using Instants it is good to remember that the ephemeral nature of the contents does not guarantee absolute privacy: someone could photograph the screen with another device before the image disappears. Meta itself explicitly warns to use Instants only with trusted people and in a responsible way.
