How to turn off Instagram’s new Instants feature and pull up photos you’ve accidentally shared

Yesterday, Instagram globally launched a new feature called “Instants” which is designed to share original and disappearing photos. While the Meta-owned social network has described the Instant feature as a new format for sharing real-life moments as they happen, many users are looking for a way to turn the feature off, especially those who have ended up accidentally sending photos to others, without fully understanding how the feature works.

When you first open Instagram’s new instant messaging section by tapping on the group of thumbnails in the lower-right corner of your inbox, the app opens a brief introduction about the feature that informs users that instant messages are gone, there’s no list of viewers, and that interactions and replies are private. The app then quickly takes you through the process of viewing and interacting with instant messages.

Once you get to the camera, below it is the shutter button, and below that is a toggle button that lets you choose between “Friends” and “Close Friends.” By default, it’s set to “Friends.”

What Meta users don’t immediately realize is the fact that the moment you tap the shutter button, the captured photo is automatically sent to everyone on your friends list, unless you manually switch the setting to Close Friends beforehand.

Since the process of sending a photo is not clearly explained, many users have ended up accidentally sending a photo to other people they did not mean to send. (It’s worth noting that Meta offers an “undo” option once you’ve sent the photo, but it’s easy to miss because the experience of accidentally exposing yourself to others can be very annoying.) Additionally, some people don’t even realize the photo has been sent.

In an app like Instagram, where users are accustomed to carefully reviewing and organizing their content before sharing it, the instant sending design of this feature understandably frustrated many people, considering that their privacy is at stake.

Unsurprisingly, many users are looking for ways to disable this feature. We’ll walk you through how to turn it off and how to unsend a photo if you accidentally share it.

How to turn off instant messaging

To turn off the new Instants feature, go to your profile, and tap the three-line menu at the top right to open your settings. Scroll down to Content Preferences and toggle on Hide instant messages in inbox.

Once you select this option, you will no longer see the instant messaging feature in your inbox. You also won’t see any instant messages people have sent you.

If you don’t want to turn off the feature completely, you can tap and hold on a pile of instant messages in your inbox and swipe right to temporarily stop receiving them.

How to undo a moment

Once you send a Moment, an “Undo” option appears below the shutter button, allowing you to quickly retract the photo before your recipients see it.

Additionally, you can go to your archive by selecting the four square icon located at the top right of the camera and Delete a Moment, which will unsend it to friends who haven’t opened it yet.