Yesterday, Instagram globally released a new feature called “Instant” designed to share authentic, disappearing photos. The Meta-owned social network is touting Instant as a new format for sharing real-life moments, but many users, especially those who accidentally sent images to others without fully understanding how the feature works, are looking for ways to turn off the feature.
When you first open Instagram’s new Instants section by tapping the mini photo stack in the bottom-right corner of your inbox, the app opens a quick introduction to the feature that notifies users that their Instants will disappear, that they don’t have a viewer list, and that their reactions and replies are private. The app will then quickly guide you through the process of viewing and reacting to your instants.
When you access the camera, you’ll find a shutter button below it, and a toggle below that that lets you choose between “Friends” and “Close Friends.” By default, it is set to “Friend”.
What Meta doesn’t immediately make users aware of is the fact that the moment you tap the shutter button, the photo you take will be automatically sent to everyone on your friends list, unless you manually toggle the settings to “close friends” beforehand.
Since the process of sending images is not clearly explained, many users have accidentally sent unintended photos to others. (Note that Meta provides an “undo” option after a photo has been sent, but this option is often overlooked as the whole experience of accidentally exposing yourself to others can be very unpleasant.)
On apps like Instagram, users are used to reviewing and carefully curating content before sharing it, but the feature’s instant send design understandably irritates many people, given their privacy is at stake.
Naturally, many users are looking for a way to disable this feature. Learn how to turn it off and unsend if you accidentally share a photo.
How to turn off instant
To turn off the new instant feature, you need to go to your profile and click on the three-line menu in the top right corner to open settings. Next, you need to scroll down to “Content Settings” and toggle “Hide Instant in Inbox.”
Select this option to prevent instant features from appearing in your inbox. You will also no longer see instants sent to you by other people.
If you don’t want to turn off this feature completely, you can temporarily stop receiving Instants by long-pressing the Instants pile in your inbox and swiping right.
How to undo instant
As soon as the instant is sent, you’ll see an “undo” option below the shutter button, allowing you to immediately cancel the photo before the recipient sees it.
Additionally, you can select the four-box icon in the top right corner of the camera to go to your archives, delete instants, and unsend them to friends who haven’t opened them yet.
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