Instagram Instants App Is Meta’s Boldest Strike Against Snapchat Yet

Instagram Instants App Is Meta’s Boldest Strike Against Snapchat Yet

Quick Reads

• Instagram Instants is a new standalone app for sharing disappearing photos and videos.
• Photos vanish after 24 hours and each recipient can only view them once.
• The app is live in Italy and Spain, with no confirmed US launch date yet.
• Instants evolved from “Shots,” a buried feature inside Instagram direct messages.
• Meta has a long history of cloning Snapchat, and this one gets its own dedicated app.

Meta has officially launched the Instagram Instants app as a standalone platform. The new app lets users share disappearing photos and videos with close friends. It is currently available on iOS and Android in Italy and Spain. Meta has not yet confirmed a rollout date for the United States.

To begin with, the Instagram Instants app opens directly to the camera, with no filter or editing options. Meanwhile, photos and videos vanish after 24 hours, and users can view them only once. Additionally, users can share content with mutual followers or their Close Friends list. Notably, both lists remain the same across Instagram and the Instants app.

Furthermore, Instants is essentially a renamed version of Shots, a feature Meta tested inside Instagram last year. Previously, Shots allowed quick, unedited photo sharing that disappeared after one view. However, the concept did not gain wide attention, as it was buried inside direct messages. As a result, spinning it into its own app gives it a fresh identity and more visibility.

More importantly, the bigger shift here is behavioral, social media is moving away from polished, public posts toward private, low-pressure sharing. Consequently, the Instagram Instants app clearly targets that moment. In other words, it strips everything down to just the camera and the connection. According to a Meta spokesperson, the company is “exploring multiple versions of Instants to see what people like.”

This is not Meta’s first attempt to challenge Snapchat’s core disappearing photo format. Previously, Meta tried Poke in 2013 and Slingshot in 2014, but both flopped within months. However, Stories eventually succeeded, though as a feature rather than a standalone app. Now, Meta prefers to sequester short-form experiments into separate apps, similar to how it built Edits as a CapCut rival.

Initially, Instagram started as a place for friends to share moments, but it grew impersonal over time due to ads and influencer culture. Now, Instants is Meta’s attempt to reclaim that intimacy. Additionally, the launch helps Meta counter creators tempted by BeReal or similar platforms. Meanwhile, with Snap Inc. seeing growth stall in several regions, Meta appears to be seizing the moment. The Instagram Instants app sits at the intersection of BeReal’s raw authenticity and Snapchat’s ephemeral format. Whether it can stand on its own remains uncertain. Meta says it is listening to its community as it tests the experience forward.