Instagram rolls out “Instants” to share candid photos with close friends

Meta-owned social media platform, Instagram, has introduced a new photo-sharing feature called Instants. It is designed for you to share casual and authentic moments with your close friends. The catch is, the photos will disappear after they are viewed, although they can be saved in your archive for about a year, and they can also be reshared as a recap to Stories. 

Instagram is positioning it as a more “raw” and “unfiltered” way to share moments, rather than posting highly edited content. However, you can also react or reply to an Instant. The new photo-sharing feature can be accessed inside the Instagram app in the bottom right corner of the inbox, and the company has also rolled out a separate app that gives quick access to the camera. However, the app is available in select regions. 

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How can you access Instants inside the Instagram app

Instagram Instants is placed inside the Instagram inbox, which is placed as a mini stack of photos at the bottom right corner. Each Instant appears in a smaller square frame and is viewed in its original form, since it does not offer edits or filters, setting it apart from Instagram’s full-screen media formats.

You can also choose with whom you want to share Instants, Close Friends or followers you follow back. In return, your friends can react, reply, and share instants as well. As mentioned above, all shared Instants will be saved automatically in an ‘archive’ after the 24-hour window. The Archived Instants can only be accessed by you and not your followers. Lastly, they can also be shared as recaps later.

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Instagram also allows users to temporarily remove the stack of mini photos from the DMs section with a long-press and right swipe gesture. Instants also comes with a separate app in select countries that include India, providing users with quick access to the camera to share captures instantly.

Instagram Instants come with similar privacy and safety features as Instagram, with controls like block, mute and restrict users. It also comes with parental supervision for teen accounts.