Meta Launches 'Instants' App for Sharing Disappearing Photos on Instagram

[AppleWes]

OMFG STOP!!!! We do NOT want or need an app for every ****ing thing. Especially when it’s just a shameless rip of another app/service…

True but that's why you have a choice to use it or not just like everything else in life / competition.

 

[mansplains]

I even tried putting some of this stuff into ai to ask for recommendations and it mentioned a platform called pumble
. I just wish larger more legitimate companies would do this.

“I’m gonna Pumble you” almost sounds frightening as pummel, but we also say “I’ll shoot you a message”

 

[mansplains]

copying a know feature by a company that's bazzilion times bigger is not "competition". it's rather a lack of regulatory oversight that ket crappy FB/meta siphon all the competition... and at this point whatever they can't buy / kill they just copy and extinguish...

Copying features is often competition. A disappearing photo is not a unique invention. The concept is simple, the photo disappears after being viewed. What matters is the implementation, the interface, the surrounding experience, and whether users prefer using it there.

Instagram adding disappearing photos is a normal competitive response. Snapchat made a feature people liked, Instagram saw demand for it, and users get a similar option in an app where many of their friends already are.

The size argument is weak here. Snapchat is not a small indie app getting crushed with no way to respond. Snap Inc is a multibillion-dollar company with a popular product, and it has made choices many users dislike, encrapifying. If they continue making their product worse with ads, clutter, and unnecessary features, users leaving for a cleaner experience is the market responding.

By your logic, nobody should open a clothing store because Macy’s has more money and brand recognition. Bigger companies having advantages does not mean competitors get to own a category forever. Unless Instagram is infringing a patent, blocking Snapchat from competing, or using exclusionary tactics, offering a similar feature with a better user experience is competing.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

We've jumped the shark. Apps for apps now?

 

[bluecoast]

An app just for nsfw pics. Wow.

I can imagine the internal pitch meeting at meta :

‘Snapchat is the no 1 app for sexting. Meta needs to own this space.

The team has come up with - not literally! - Instants’

 

[joshwithachance]

True but that's why you have a choice to use it or not just like everything else in life / competition.

Competitors are supposed to offer their own unique take on whatever it is they're "copying". Meta doesn't do that.

 

[joshwithachance]

That's kind of the point. They are trying to bring "snapchat" to instagram so you can use a single app.

Well it's gonna fail. Just like how Threads failed to kill Twitter and Reels failed to kill TikTok.

 

[joshwithachance]

i dont need another snapchat
im tired of temporary connections. anyone i have added on snap feels like throwaway connections to me that i stopped using it

Not to sound nihilistic, but everything (including life itself) is temporary.

 

[joshwithachance]

All we want is to see our friends posts without random reels taking over.

Then tap the Instagram logo and select "following".

 

[gummybear2026]

Meta must be really desperate for revenue!

 

[applefan8254]

“I’m gonna Pumble you” almost sounds frightening as pummel, but we also say “I’ll shoot you a message”

Agreed lol. That's kinda why I wish larger more established existing platforms would embrace more fully functioning canvas style edit capabilities.

 

[DBZmusicboy01]

What’s even the point if they already have private picture sharing?
It’s insane because you can’t even screenshot Instants. The moment they disable screen recording/shot a Story it’s game over.
Instants is 100x worse idea than Threads.

 

[Astuces iOS]

i dont need another snapchat
im tired of temporary connections. anyone i have added on snap feels like throwaway connections to me that i stopped using it

Yeah it’s another dumb app just to addict

 

[GermanSuplex]

Download InstaLock to further secure your chats! Create chats on device and encrypt before sending to Instants. Your message recipients will also need InstaLock. Before encrypting with InstaLock, you may wish to use InstaCode to develop your own language!