Instagram tests Instants: a standalone app for one-tap disappearing photos, and a hint at where social sharing is headed

Instagram is testing a new photo-sharing app called Instants, expanding a push toward more private, low-pressure posting. The standalone app is available in limited markets, including Spain and Italy, alongside an option to access the feature inside Instagram.

Instants is built around quick, in-the-moment photos that disappear after they are viewed once and remain available for up to 24 hours. Users take a picture with a single tap, and the app blocks camera-roll uploads and most editing to keep posts unpolished.

A bet on casual sharing

The concept echoes the popularity of ephemeral messaging and more intimate social circles, borrowing familiar ideas from apps such as Snapchat and BeReal. Instead of aiming for viral reach, the focus is on sharing with people you already know.

Instagram says Instants can be shared with mutual followers or a Close Friends list, using the same lists across both the main app and the new one. In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said the company is testing Instants to give people “low-pressure ways to connect with friends.”

Why Meta is experimenting now?

The test arrives as Instagram continues to balance creator-driven feeds and advertising with calls for a more personal experience. A separate app could let Meta trial new posting mechanics without reshaping the main Instagram interface for everyone at once.

Instants also risks overlapping with Instagram Stories, which already serves a similar purpose for many users. Whether people adopt yet another camera-first app may depend on how clearly Instants differentiates itself and how widely Instagram rolls it out.