Meta has officially launched Instagram Instants, a new disappearing photo-sharing feature that bears a striking resemblance to the app that pioneered the format over a decade ago, Snapchat. The launch went global on 13 May 2026.

Instants lets users share photos in the moment with either their Close Friends or mutual followers. The uploaded photos, which cannot be seen more than 24 hours after upload, also disappear after they’ve been viewed. Crucially, users cannot edit photos before sending, the idea being to encourage more authentic, unfiltered sharing as moments happen.

Users can capture an Instant directly from the Instagram inbox, via a mini pile of photos in the bottom right corner, or through a dedicated standalone Instants app available on iOS and Android in select countries. Photos must be taken in real time; uploads from a phone gallery are not allowed. Recipients can react with emojis, reply, and send Instants back.

Several features round out the experience. Shared Instants are saved in a private archive visible only to the sender for up to one year. Users can compile these into a recap and post it to Instagram Stories. Screenshots are blocked, and an undo button lets users retract an Instant before it’s opened.

However, let’s call it what it is. Disappearing photos, a real-time camera, no gallery uploads, close friends sharing, screenshot blocking — these are the core pillars on which Snapchat built its entire identity. Instagram is not reinventing the wheel here. It is borrowing it, polishing it, and embedding it inside a platform with over two billion users.

This is not the first time Meta has done this. Instagram Stories, now one of the most used features on the platform, was a near-direct copy of Snapchat Stories when it launched in 2016. It worked then. Meta is clearly betting it works again.

For Snapchat, the concern is real. Its strongest competitive advantage has always been the intimacy and ephemerality of its sharing model. If Instagram replicates that convincingly within an ecosystem users already live in daily, the switching cost for young users drops dramatically.

However, one aspect of the launch that stands out is the deliberate emphasis on safety infrastructure, particularly for younger users.

Instants is automatically integrated with Instagram’s Teen Accounts and Family Centre. No separate setup is required; existing parental supervision extends to Instants automatically. Time spent on Instants counts toward a teen’s daily Instagram time limit, Sleep Mode restricts access between 10 PM and 7 AM by default, and parents are notified the first time their teen downloads the standalone app. fb

That is a notably proactive posture from Meta, which has faced sustained regulatory and public pressure over its handling of young users across its platforms.