Meta is developing a new feature called “Peek” that aims to facilitate authentic and ephemeral photo-sharing on the platform. Reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi first spotted the feature, which a Meta spokesperson confirmed to be an internal prototype for TechCrunch.

Peek is designed to allow users to capture and share unedited, in-the-moment photos that can only be viewed once by their followers. This concept borrows elements from the popular app BeReal, which has gained traction for encouraging users to post candid, unfiltered snapshots of their daily lives at a randomly selected time each day.

#Instagram keeps working on "Quick Snap", which is now called "Peek" 👀 pic.twitter.com/olFiIlFBoD

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) April 24, 2024

Unlike Instagram’s existing Stories feature, which allows photos and videos to be viewed for 24 hours, Peek photos would disappear after a single viewing. Users would also be unable to upload existing images from their camera roll or apply filters or edits to their Peek photos.

According to TechCrunch, Meta has not provided details on the potential launch timeline for Peek. Still, the feature appears to be part of the company’s ongoing efforts to compete with emerging social media trends and platforms. In 2022, Instagram tested a similar feature called “Candid Stories” that mimicked BeReal’s concept of sharing unedited daily snapshots, though it was never widely released.

The development of Peek aligns with recent reports suggesting that BeReal’s popularity may be waning despite its initial success in capturing the attention of Gen Z users.