Instagram is building an internal prototype of a new standalone app for sending disappearing photos, in a move that closely resembles Snapchat’s early product concept.
The app is being called “Instants”, according to a screenshot shared by mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi, who is known for reverse engineering Instagram to surface unreleased features. Meta confirmed the prototype to Business Insider, but said it is not being tested externally.
#Instagram is working on a standalone app for Instants/Quicksnap 👀 pic.twitter.com/d56vOeoGap
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) February 8, 2026
What is Instants?
Paluzzi’s rendering describes the app as a way to “share disappearing photos with friends”, positioning it as a faster, more ephemeral alternative to posting publicly.
Meta told Business Insider the prototype remains internal. That suggests the project is still at an early stage, and may never ship as a consumer product.
Instagram is already testing an ‘Instants’ feature
Meta also told Business Insider that Instagram has been trialling an Instants feature inside the main Instagram app. It has been available in a limited test in “some countries globally”, and was previously referred to as “Shots”.
Instagram’s Help Centre describes Instants as quick disappearing photos sent via direct messages. The photo disappears after it’s opened and expires 24 hours after sending. It can only be sent to mutual followers, and the photos can’t be edited.
Why Meta keeps circling back to disappearing messages
Instagram has experimented with disappearing formats for years. It introduced disappearing text and photos in DMs in 2016, then added Vanish Mode in 2020, which turns on disappearing messages in a chat thread.
The Instants prototype would put that behaviour into a standalone app experience, rather than a feature tucked inside Instagram’s messaging inbox.
Friend-to-friend messaging is the priority
Instagram has been pushing harder into “friends” interactions, which Meta defines as people who mutually follow each other, as more sharing shifts from feeds to private messages.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri previously told Business Insider there has been a “paradigm shift” toward private sharing, such as direct messages, across the platform.
Snapchat comparisons are hard to avoid
Meta has repeatedly borrowed from Snapchat’s playbook. Instagram Stories was widely viewed as a Snapchat-style clone, and Instagram has also launched a social map feature similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map.
A dedicated disappearing-photo app would be the clearest nod yet to Snapchat’s original premise, just as Meta continues rolling out standalone products across its portfolio, including Threads, Edits and Meta AI.