Meta also said that it was experimenting with an Instants standalone app [File]
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
Meta has introduced its new ‘Instants’ offering that will let users send snapshots of their daily doings to a chosen audience for one-time viewing.
Meta said that Instants was a new way to share “casual” and “everyday” photos that would disappear after people viewed them. While this may sound like the app’s existing ‘Stories’ feature, Instagram users can still come back to Stories and view them multiple times for 24 hours from the time of posting.
By contrast, Instants will be available via the bottom right corner of the user’s Instagram inbox. Users can add captions to them before sharing them with contacts who are part of their ‘Close Friends’ list, and/or followers they follow back. An undo button will automatically let users take back Instants before they get shared with friends.
Meta also said that it was experimenting with an Instants standalone app in select countries, in order to enable quicker access to the camera.
Early in 2026, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri revealed that the primary mode of sharing on the app was through photos and videos via Direct Messages (DMs).
Earlier in May, Instagram officially ended support for end-to-end encrypted messaging on the app, drawing flak from privacy-conscious users.
Published – May 14, 2026 01:43 pm IST
