Instagram has quietly launched its messaging app called Bolt.
Bolt allows you to send short-lived photo and video messages from mobile devices; this means the message disappears after it has been read. Tap on a friend’s face To send a photo instantly, all you have to do is tap on friend’s face. However if you want to send a video, you have to long-press on their face. Shake your phone to undo an accidental Bolt.
Bolt will only be rolled out to users in 3 countries – New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa
Techcrunch shares more information below on how Bolt works
You sign up for Bolt with your phone number — no Instagram or Facebook account required. It sucks in your phone’s contacts and you can select to pull any of them into your Favorites list. You’re then given the Bolt camera. Rather than a standard shutter button, the faces of all your friends in your Favorites list are shown as a scrollable row across the bottom of the screen
“We’re going to other regions soon, but are starting with handful of countries to make sure we can scale the experience,” an Instagram spokesman tells The Verge. “Instagram has 65 percent of its users overseas, so an international launch, while different, is actually not all that out of order with what we do.” The spokesperson elaborated that the three countries were chosen for their geographical diversity, but also for their tight-knit communities, which Bolt hopes to piggyback on
