Meta announced the official launch of its separate Instants app, following a smaller rollout late last month. The company is also expanding access to Instants within the main IG app.
Instants enables users to share real, in-the-moment updates, without composer editing tools. Instants posts also auto-delete once they’re viewed.
As explained by Meta: “We want to make it easier to share in the moment with friends — so we’re introducing Instants, a new way to share casual, everyday photos that disappear after your friends view them. Instants live in the bottom right corner of your Instagram inbox, and with a simple tap of the camera, you can share photos with close friends or mutuals (followers you follow back). No edits, no pressure, just life as it happens.”
The Instants app, which is now available in select regions, enables quick access to the camera, with the app opening to selfie view for immediate capture and sharing.
Meanwhile, in the main app, Instants will be accessible by tapping the mini stack of photos at the bottom right of the DM inbox, providing another way to engage with connections.
Users will be able to add a caption to their Instant image, but no further editing tools will be available. Recipients will be able to react, reply and share their own instants in response.
And while the emphasis is on in-the-moment sharing, users will also be able to access an Instants archive, and generate recaps of their Instants that they can post to stories.
The option aims to address the performance pressure of Instagram, with many young users, in particular, comparing their selfies to highly edited, artificial intelligence-enhanced images of celebrities and influencers, which can make them feel less positive about their own appearance.
Which has been a noted problem on Instagram for some time.
In 2019, Instagram enabled users to hide like counts on their posts as a measure to help “depressurize Instagram for young people,” according to IG chief Adam Mosseri.
Then in 2021, as part of the Facebook Files expose, published in the Wall Street Journal, leaked documents showed that Meta’s own research indicated that Instagram was especially harmful for teen girls, with 32% of teen girl users indicating they felt worse about their bodies after using Instagram.
Providing a less polished, less edited version of IG, then, could be a healthier approach, and it may lead to more beneficial sharing even if it’s tucked away from the main feed.
Instants also marks Meta’s latest attempt to take on Snapchat, with teen-focused sharing tools that are similar to Snap’s approach.
Snapchat also opens to the camera, and is based around disappearing images. Maybe, then, Instants will offer another opportunity for Meta to eat into Snapchat’s audience, by incorporating the same functionality into IG.
But why would Meta be coming after Snapchat right now?
Well, Snapchat could be more vulnerable at this stage, with the app’s usage declining in the U.S. and EU, its key revenue markets.
If Snapchat is losing its grip on teen sharing, maybe now is a good time for Instagram to step in, in order to provide an alternative. It’s also an opportunity to step on Snapchat while it’s hurting.
At the same time, Snap is preparing to launch its AR glasses, which will put it in competition with Meta on another front. Maybe that makes Snap even more vulnerable to a new push from Meta to steal its audience.
Whatever the business logic, it certainly seems like Meta is keen to score a critical hit on Snapchat via Instants, which could become a more viable competitor for Snapchat’s audience.
Then again, Instants has actually been available on IG for some time, under a different name.
Last year, Instagram launched an experimental “Shots” feature with some users.
Shots is Instants, under a different moniker, so the function itself has actually been floating around in the app for more than a year, with seemingly little fanfare or interest.
That could mean users won’t be overly enthused by Instants either. But maybe, if Instagram puts more focus on the function, there could be increased usage and engagement.
