WhatsApp Instants is a new camera feature for sending photos and videos that disappear after the recipient views them, and it is under development in the latest Android beta for a future update. Only mutual contacts will be able to receive an Instant, and WhatsApp plans to block screenshots while the recipient views it.
WhatsApp is modeling the feature on Instagram’s Instants, which Meta launched on May 13 for sharing photos with Close Friends or followers you follow back. WhatsApp’s version covers videos of up to 30 seconds as well as photos. WABetaInfo found Instants in WhatsApp beta for Android 2.26.45.13.
How WhatsApp Instants Works
A lightning bolt button will sit at the top of the Chats tab in a future update. You tap it to open the Instants camera, take a photo or a video, and add a caption before you send it.
The recipient can view an Instant once, and it disappears afterward. The feature is meant for spontaneous moments that you share as they happen, without polishing them first.
The camera offers ten filters: Original, Goof, Bulge, Nervous, Tears, Fisheye, Glitch, VHS, Fade and Prism. WhatsApp may change the list before release. Instagram’s version lets you add only a caption before sending, so the filters would set WhatsApp’s camera apart.
On Instagram, an Instant cannot be viewed after 24 hours, and you can only shoot in the moment, with no uploads from your gallery. Friends can react with emojis, reply and send an Instant back. It is not yet known whether WhatsApp Instants will follow the same rules.
WhatsApp has offered View Once photos and videos in regular chats since 2021, so the dedicated camera is what Instants adds.
Who Can Receive Instants
Instants go only to mutual contacts, meaning people who have saved your number while you have saved theirs. Photos and videos are end-to-end encrypted, so only you and the recipient can see them.
Screenshots will be blocked while the recipient views an Instant. Instagram’s version already works that way, since friends cannot screenshot or record an Instant there. The screenshot block does not extend to status updates.
Where the Camera Fits
The lightning bolt will sit at the top of the Chats tab, where WhatsApp has already moved status updates in an earlier Android beta. WhatsApp is also reorganizing its bottom bar, and some iPhone beta testers now see a Contacts tab in place of Communities.
WhatsApp is expected to release Instants in a future update, but the feature is not open to beta testers yet. WhatsApp has not announced a release date.
