Instagram launches Instants

Instagram is testing Instants, a separate app for disappearing photos and short videos shared with friends in Spain and Italy. (techcrunch.com) The app opens straight to the camera, lets people capture with one tap, and blocks uploads from the camera roll. Posts can be viewed once and stay available for up to 24 hours. (techcrunch.com) Instagram said people can send Instants to mutual followers or to their Close Friends list, and the same lists work across both Instagram and the Instants app on iOS and Android. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch the test is meant to give people “low-pressure ways to connect with friends.” (techcrunch.com) Instants strips out most of the polish that defines the main Instagram app. Users can add text, but they cannot edit the photo after capture, which makes the product closer to Snapchat, BeReal, and Locket than to Reels or Stories. (techcrunch.com) The test lands a year after Meta launched Edits, a standalone video-creation app for longer capture, background replacement, automatic captions, artificial intelligence effects, templates, and performance insights. (about.fb.com) That split leaves Instagram with two very different side apps: Edits for polished creator production and Instants for quick, vanishing messages between friends. CNBC described Edits as Instagram’s answer to ByteDance’s CapCut, the editing app tied to TikTok. (cnbc.com) Instagram has already been testing Instants inside the main app in some regions, and the new rollout turns that feature into its own product. Android Authority reported that the Google Play listing was updated on April 19 and showed more than 100 downloads when the app was spotted. (androidauthority.com) Meta has not announced a United States launch date, and Instagram told TechCrunch it is still trying multiple versions to see what users prefer. For now, Instants looks like a small regional test of whether people want a more disposable version of Instagram. (techcrunch.com)