Introducing Instants — a new way to share spontaneous, unfiltered photos with friends. No edits, no pressure, just life as it happens.
Instants live in your inbox. Tap the camera, share a photo, and it disappears after your friends view it. Simple.
Go to your Instagram inbox and tap the mini stack of photos at the bottom right corner to open Instants.
Capture a photo, add a caption, and choose who to share with — Close Friends or mutuals you follow back.
Your friends can react and reply. Replies go straight to DMs. The instant disappears after viewed or within 24 hours.
Built-in tools that give you control over your shared moments, from archiving to undoing a post.
Your shared instants are saved in a private archive. Only you can see it — access it from the top right corner of instants.
Compile your instants from the archive into a recap and share it to Stories for all of your followers. Just tap "Create recap."
Accidentally shared an instant? Tap the undo button before friends see it. You can also delete from archive to unshare.
Hold down the stack of instants by your inbox and swipe right to temporarily stop seeing them. Swipe left to bring them back.
A dedicated Instants app for iOS and Android gives you quicker camera access. Log in with your existing Instagram account.
Instants shared on the standalone app show up for friends on Instagram and vice versa. Seamless sharing across platforms.
All Instagram safety and privacy protections apply to Instants — whether you're on Instagram or the standalone app. No separate setup needed.
Instants can't be screenshot or screen recorded, keeping your shared moments truly ephemeral and private.
Instants is automatically integrated with Teen Accounts and parental supervision. If a parent supervises their teen on Instagram, it extends to Instants.
Notifications are muted and access is restricted by default between 10 PM and 7 AM for teens.
Time spent on Instants counts toward a teen's daily time limit on Instagram.
Block, mute, and restrict all apply to instants. You control who can send you instants.
Instagram's Community Standards apply to Instants. We use technology to find and remove content that breaks these rules.
Join the community sharing life as it happens. No edits, no pressure — just you and your friends.
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