Meta is once again trying to take on competitors by developing features that borrow concepts from other companies, in this case BeReal and Snapchat. The company is developing a feature for Instagram called “Peek” that will allow users to post real photos that can only be viewed once. While Snapchat popularized the concept of ephemeral content on social media, BeReal led the trend of posting authentic, unedited content. Meta is known for copying startups and other technology companies, and it looks like they're doing it again with a new feature.
The social media company confirmed to TechCrunch on Friday that the feature, first discovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, is an internal prototype and has not been tested externally.
Peak appears to be a more ephemeral version of Stories that can be viewed 24 hours a day. According to the screenshot shared by Paluzzi, photos shared via Peek must be taken with the camera immediately as the camera cannot upload images from his gallery. Additionally, you cannot edit photos or add filters. This is a concept popularized by the rise of BeReal.
#Instagram Continue working on “Peek” 👀
ℹ️
Capture and send with one tap
Real photos – no editing or filters required
Once you see it, it disappears
Click here for the introduction screen 👇 pic.twitter.com/G0nsvHpwwO
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) May 13, 2024
Peek seems a bit similar to Instagram's Candid Stories feature, which it started testing in 2022 to compete with BeReal. This feature was never rolled out to all users, but in essence he was a clone of BeReal. This feature sends people a notification encouraging them to capture and share what they're doing in the moment, without having to edit the image or add filters.
Where Candid Stories encouraged users to share authentic content at specific times each day, Peek lets you do it at your convenience.
This flexibility could be more appealing to users who are interested in sharing authentic content, but don't want to share based on a random timer. Instagram's twist on authentic photo sharing could appeal to users, especially since there are reports that BeReal is losing momentum (which it claims are false).
A screenshot posted by Paluzzi notes that Instagram sees Peek as a way to “share small moments with the people you love.” Instagram likely hopes this feature will encourage users to share more types of content on the app and give it another shot at competing with BeReal.
As with other internal prototypes, it's unclear when or if Instagram plans to release Peek publicly. Of course, if Instagram releases this feature, it may look different or change its name.