UK regulator Ofcom investigates Meta over Instagram's disappearing-photo feature Instants

Paperwork, essentially, but paperwork the law requires.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must carry out and update risk assessments. Ofcom's investigation will examine whether Meta failed to carry out "a suitable and sufficient illegal content risk assessment and children's risk assessment before the launch of Instants," the BBC reports.

The rule: "Our online safety laws are clear – significant changes to platforms must be risk assessed before they're launched," said George Lusty, Ofcom's director of enforcement, according to LBC.

"This is a vital step that tech firms must take to protect their users," he said. "You wouldn't launch a new car without testing it properly, and it's the same for online services."

The warning: "Safety by design must be built in, not bolted on, and today's investigation shows we'll take action where we have concerns that providers are failing to comply," Lusty added.

Opening an investigation doesn't mean Ofcom has found that Meta broke the law. Reuters says the formal investigation will establish whether Meta carried out "suitable and sufficient" assessments of the risk of illegal content in the feature and of any risks to children before launch.

Instagram launched Instants globally on May 13, after testing it with select users, TechCrunch reported at the time.

How it works: you take a photo with Instagram's in-app camera and send it to close friends or mutual followers. You can add text, but you can't edit the photo or upload one from your gallery. Recipients can view an Instant once, and it stays available for 24 hours.

Where it lives: you open Instants by tapping a small stack of photos in the bottom right corner of the Instagram inbox. Recipients can react with emojis, reply or send an Instant back. Meta was also testing Instants as a standalone app in some countries, including Spain and Italy.

What stays: shared Instants are saved in a private archive the sender can see for up to a year. Users can turn archived Instants into a recap and post it to Instagram Stories.

TechCrunch noted at launch that the feature borrows ideas from Snapchat, Locket and BeReal.

The controls: if you send an Instant by mistake, you can tap "undo," or delete it from your archive to unsend it to anyone who hasn't opened it yet. To stop receiving Instants for a while, you can hold down the pile in your inbox and swipe right. You can also block or mute specific people.

The launch didn't go smoothly for some users.

The day after launch, TechCrunch reported that many people accidentally sent photos they didn't mean to share. The camera's audience toggle was set to "Friends" by default, and tapping the shutter button sent the photo to everyone on that list right away, unless the user switched to "Close Friends" first.

Meta offered an "undo" button after sending, but it was easy to miss. Some people didn't realize a photo had been sent at all, TechCrunch reported, and many users went looking for ways to turn the feature off.

That episode isn't part of Ofcom's stated case, which is about whether risk assessments were done. But it shows how quickly a new sharing feature can surprise its own users.

Meta says it did the work and told Ofcom about it.

"Meta takes its regulatory obligations under the Online Safety Act seriously," a spokesperson said. "We conducted a risk analysis and briefed Ofcom about this feature on a number of occasions before launching it."

"Instants has in-built protections, including blocking screenshots, reshares and forwarding, no public feed, and Teen Account protections on automatically," the spokesperson added. "We will of course co-operate with Ofcom during this investigation."

Because of who might use it.

Disappearing messages and images have been singled out before as posing particular risks for children and teenagers on some apps, the BBC notes.

Under the UK's rules, platforms must show how they stop children who are allowed on their services from encountering harmful content, the BBC reports. That covers material such as pornography and content promoting self-harm or suicide, as well as abusive, hateful or bullying content.

Instants can be seen by people a user has picked as "close friends," or by people they follow who follow them back, according to the BBC.

If Ofcom finds Meta broke the law, it will require the company to take steps to comply or to remedy any harm caused, LBC reports.

If Meta then fails to comply, it could be fined up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.

Ofcom has already used these powers. It has issued more than £7 million in fines against 11 providers since October 2025, according to LBC. One was 4chan, fined £520,000, including £450,000 for not protecting children from seeing pornography.

The investigation lands in the middle of a wider legal battle.

Judicial review: Meta, TikTok and X are challenging Ofcom's enforcement of the Online Safety Act through judicial review, and all three appeared in court this week, the BBC reports. They argue they shouldn't have to provide so much information in response to Ofcom's formal requests.

Fines and scope: Meta has also argued that Ofcom shouldn't be able to base fines on global annual revenue, and that its messaging and image-sharing apps shouldn't face extra requirements such as tackling paid-for fraud ads, according to the BBC. Reuters adds that Meta's legal challenges also cover the level of fees Ofcom charges.

A separate probe: in January, Ofcom opened a different investigation into whether Meta gave complete and accurate information in response to legally binding requests about WhatsApp's role in UK business messaging, The Register reported. That case centers on two statutory notices issued to Meta in July 2024 and June 2025. Ofcom said the information it had received may not have been complete or accurate. Meta told The Register it would cooperate with that investigation too.

• If you use Instagram in the UK: nothing changes for now. Instants stays available while Ofcom investigates.
• If you don't want Instants: go to your profile, open settings, scroll to Content Preferences and turn on "Hide Instants in Inbox," TechCrunch reports. That also hides Instants others send you.
• If you're a parent: Meta says Teen Account protections turn on automatically for Instants, and recipients can't screenshot, reshare or forward them.
• If you build apps for UK users: Ofcom's message is that big new features need a documented risk assessment before launch, not after.