Instants is available as a stand-alone app on iOS and Android in select countries, and can be accessed through Instagram’s Direct Messaging tab.
The core of Instants, from its name to its bare-bones layout, is designed to create a sense of ephemera. Yes, it is an ideological clone of Snapchat, in which images disappear after being viewed, which can also be unsent before being viewed by another person. (Instagram’s Stories feature, launched a decade ago, was also influenced by Snapchat.)
Unlike Snapchat, Instant, like the once-viral BeReal app, focuses more on capturing raw moments, and doesn’t allow any filters or retouching. This is surprising for a company that helped create sepia-toned filters for household names like Valencia, and is bent on adding generative AI to every other corner of its apps.
courtesy of meta
There’s a specific type of raw image I’m pretty sure adult users will share with their close friends list via Instant: dick photos.
Instagram’s Close Friends feature, which arrived in 2018, earned a reputation as a way to share thirst traps. As a gay man living in San Francisco, I’m fully aware of what I’ll see when someone adds me to their list and posts on close friends. No one is primarily posting full hog – that would be blocked by meta – but there’s a lot of skin on display in those green bubbles.
Similar to Instagram, Instant is available to teen users. Nevertheless, content posted on any app may appear to be of adult nature. While Instagram’s community guidelines ban posting most types of nudity, with the exceptions of idols and breastfeeding, in practice, my main feed on Instagram is full of ass shots — nothing in front. Images posted to Stories only to close friends lists, rather than shared more publicly, often appear to escape strict moderation rules. The Instants app is governed by the same guidelines as the main Instagram app.
screenshotcourtesy of meta
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