Instagram takes on Snapchat with Instants but not everyone is happy
There is concern that the ephemeral nature of the app will lend itself to sending spicy images and thirst traps.
Instagram has launched a brand new app set to take on Snapchat.
Just like its rival, Instants lets users send photos to a select audience that disappear after they are viewed or after 24 hours.
A point of difference, though, is that Instants does not allow filters or retouching and appears to be aiming to capture raw moments, similar to the app BeReal, which went briefly viral in 2022.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Announcing the May 13 launch, Instagram said the feature was designed to “make it easier to share life’s moments with friends as they happen”.
“No edits, no pressure, just life as it happens.”
Even though all of the safety and privacy protections that apply to Instagram also apply to Instants, there is concern that the ephemeral nature of the app will lend itself to sending spicy images and thirst traps.
It is a feature available on the main Instagram app but is also being rolled out as its own standalone app.
You can access the Instants by tapping on the mini stack of photos at the bottom right corner of your Instagram inbox.
When you share your own photos with friends it will show up as a stack of photos in their inboxes and you can chose whether you send them to close friends or followers you follow back.
You can add a caption before you send no post-send edits are allowed. However, you can unsend before the person it is sent to views the image. You can’t screenshot images sent to you and your own Instants will be saved in an archive folder only you can access.
Not everyone is happy with the feature, however, with people taking to other social media platforms asking how they can remove it.
“Woke up to 10 instants and all of them were sent accidentally,” one person on X wrote.
Another posted on Reddit, “Whoever thought that putting it at the right side of the dm area was a good idea should be fired. What an annoying feature.”
How it works:
• Go to your Instagram inbox and tap the mini stack of photos at the bottom right corner.
• You can add a caption (unlike stories, you add the caption first!), but can’t further edit instants.
• Choose who to share your instants with – Close Friends or followers you follow back. Your friends can react, reply, and share instants as well.
• Tap the white button below the camera to share as many times as you want. An undo button will automatically appear the moment you share an instant in case you want to quickly take it back before it gets shared with friends.
• Instants you share will show up as a stack of photos in the bottom right corner of your friends’ inboxes, and disappear after viewed.
