Instagram is innovating once again with a new feature that promises to change the way users share their moments online. Codenamed “Peek,” this tool represents a new format in the app for sending ephemeral photos, combining concepts that have been popular on other platforms such as BeReal and Snapchat.
With this new option, the app is exploring the idea of allowing users to share photos that can only be viewed once, a feature reminiscent of the ephemeral functionality that Snapchat popularized and which was later adopted in various forms by other platforms, as is currently the case on WhatsApp.
Peek is an experimental feature that Meta is developing internally for Instagram. According to reports from TechCrunch and observations by Alessandro Paluzzi, a well-known reverse engineer and leaker, This tool will allow users to capture moments and share them instantly, without the option to edit the photos or apply filters.
The idea behind this tool is simple: users will take a photo using the camera in real time, which encourages spontaneity and authenticity compared to the carefully edited and curated images that often fill Instagram feeds.
This functionality will not allow uploading of images from the phone’s gallery, underscoring the intention to capture moments as they happen, without the possibility of subsequent manipulation.
The development of Peek aims to be a direct response to the trends set by BeReal and Snapchat. In addition to being an alternative to 24-hour ephemeral stories, which have become one of the most important formats on the social network.
According to reports, once a user shares a photo through “Peek,” it can only be viewed once by the recipients. This gives a sense of exclusivity to shared content, similar to the experience offered by ephemeral messages on other platforms.
The lack of option to edit or apply filters also promotes authenticity, encouraging users to share moments as they experience them.
The introduction of Peek could have several implications for the Instagram user community. On the one hand, could change the dynamic of how people interact with the platform, encouraging them to share more spontaneous, less edited moments.
Additionally, this tool could influence the way brands and content creators use Instagram to promote products and services. The ephemeral nature of shared photos Through this function it could be used for advertising campaigns that seek to capture attention immediately and directly.
Previously, Instagram has experimented with similar features like “Candid Stories,” which also promoted capturing moments without edits or filters. However, andThese features did not achieve widespread implementation and could have served as preliminary tests for the development of Peek.
Meta continues to expand the capabilities of its generative AI-powered products, making these tools accessible to a larger number of users and in a recent initiative, the company has started integrating its Meta AI chatbot into WhatsApp for users in India and is Trying to include it in the Instagram search bar.
This development allows both interaction with AI for queries and the discovery of new content within the photo and video sharing platform, which is used by more than 1.3 billion people around the world.
This advance in technology would allow Instagram users Interact directly with Meta AI via direct messages (DM)using pre-loaded prompts or asking specific questions.
The experience seeks not only to facilitate searches within the application, but also promote the discovery of relevant contentas highlighted in a post shared on Threads where a user found Reels about a Maui sunset using this feature.
