Instagram launches Instants feature and standalone app for real-time photo sharing

Instagram has launched Instants, a new feature and standalone app that allows users to share spontaneous disappearing photos with friends. The feature includes archive and recap tools, along with Teen Account protections, parental supervision, and enhanced privacy controls.

Hyderabad: Instagram has introduced Instants, a new feature and standalone companion app designed to make real-time photo sharing easier and more spontaneous for users.

The feature allows users to share casual, unfiltered photos that disappear after being viewed by friends. Instants appear in the bottom-right corner of Instagram inboxes, enabling users to quickly capture and send photos to Close Friends or mutual followers without edits or filters.

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Users can add captions before sharing, while friends can react, reply, and share their own Instants. Replies are delivered directly through Instagram direct messages. Shared Instants disappear after they are viewed and cannot be accessed after 24 hours.

Instagram said users will also have access to a private archive where shared Instants are stored for up to a year. Archived Instants can later be compiled into recap stories and shared with followers through Instagram Stories.

The platform has also introduced features such as Undo, which allows users to quickly retract a shared Instant before it is viewed, and Snooze, which temporarily hides Instants from the inbox interface.

Alongside the feature rollout, Instagram is testing a separate Instants app in select countries on iOS and Android. The app provides quicker camera access and syncs directly with existing Instagram accounts.

The company said all existing Instagram safety and privacy protections will apply to Instants, including block, mute, and restrict controls. Teen Account protections and Family Center supervision tools will also extend to the new feature and companion app.

Additional safeguards include shared time limits, Sleep Mode restrictions between 10 PM and 7 AM for teens, screenshot prevention, and parental notifications when supervised teens download the standalone Instants app.

Instagram said Instants is now available globally as an in-app feature, while the standalone app is being introduced selectively across international markets.