Instagram adds Instants tool to send disappearing photo dumps to friends

Source: Mashable Tech

Instagram introduces Instants

Instagram has a new feature that lets you share an unedited photo dump with your pals that disappears once viewed.

The Meta‑owned social media platform announced Instants on Wednesday, a tool that lets you send a batch of snaps to Close Friends or mutual followers. You can’t edit the photos, but you can add captions. Instants will disappear after being viewed or after 24 hours, functioning similarly to Instagram’s existing disappearing messages and comparable to options on Snapchat, Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp. An undo button lets you retract a sent photo.

Credit: Instagram / Mashable

Instants appear in your Instagram DMs inbox as a pile of photos. After you send a collection, recipients can react with emoji, reply like a regular DM, or send their own Instants, allowing both parties to exchange unedited snaps back and forth. Recipients cannot screenshot the photos, and your Instants are saved in a folder only you can access—you can repost them from there to Stories.

Important caveats

• Screen recording: Even though Instants cannot be screenshotted, the recipient can always record the screen or take a photo with another device.
• Content monitoring: Instagram monitors Close Friends content, so it is not an incognito mode.
• Policy compliance: All posts must comply with Instagram’s nudity guidelines, which balance protection and censorship.
• Encryption: Instagram has officially removed end‑to‑end encryption on DMs, so Instants are protected only by standard encryption (details).

Mashable has reached out to Instagram for comment.