Instagram took a big cue from Snapchat by adding disappearing photos and videos. It also added live video streaming and other video features, but it’s the disappearing phots and videos that resemble the core of what Snapchat became famous for. Based on how much teens embraced both Snapchat and Instagram, it seems likely that the disappearing photos and videos feature on Instagram will be a huge hit.
Here’s how to send disappearing photos on Instagram
It’s quite easy to send disappearing photos and videos on Instagram. Here’s the process:
- Open the Instagram app on your iPhone or iPad
- Swipe to the right within the app, which will open up your camera.
- Snap a picture or record a video using your device’s camera.
- After you’ve taken the picture, just tap the arrow that you’ll see in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.
- From this screen, you can decide how many people to send the photo or video for, whether it’s one person or multiple people. After selecting the name or names from the list of contacts, just tap “Send,” which is at the bottom of your screen. Note that you can only send disappearing photos or videos to Instagram users who follow you, whether your account is private or public.
After your friends view your disappearing photo or video, it will disappear. After you send the message, you can also see whether your friends have viewed it and whether they played it more than once or even took a screenshot of it.
How to view disappearing photos that were sent to you
It’s also easy to view a disappearing photo or video if one has been sent to you. To do so, here’s the process:
- Open up your inbox by tapping the paper airplane icon, which you will see in the top right-hand corner of your Instagram feed. You can also swipe left inside the app.
- In the bar at the top of the screen, you should see the disappearing photos and videos. To see them, tap the ones that have blue rings next to them.
- If you’re in a group, you can see all the responses to the disappearing messages in addition to the names of other Instagram users who have viewed them. They will appear in slideshow format.
- You can send a response to the photo or video by tapping the sender’s faded profile image.
