Instagram has begun testing a brand-new photo-sharing app called “Instants,” a move aimed at competing with platforms like Snapchat and BeReal, and recapturing the spontaneous nature that characterized the platform in its early days before the deluge of ads and sponsored content.
According to TechCrunch, the app is currently available for testing in Spain and Italy. It’s designed for sharing “instant” photos that disappear completely after being viewed once, or remain available for only 24 hours.
The app’s concept is based on the “one-shot” format; the photo is taken with a single tap, without allowing any editing (filters) or uploading old photos from the phone’s gallery. The only available feature is adding a simple text to the image, ensuring authentic, unpolished content, unlike the main Instagram app, which relies on perfected and edited photos.
One of the app’s most notable features is that the sharing lists (mutual followers or close friends) are the same as those found in your main Instagram account.
Analysts believe that launching a separate app might be a belated gamble, especially given the declining popularity of apps like BeReal, which adopted the same philosophy, and the existing “Stories” feature that already dominates real-time sharing.
