Bolt was the stand-alone Instagram messaging app launched in July 2014. It let users tap a friend’s profile photo to send an image quickly, with the message disappearing after it had been viewed.
Instagram positioned Bolt as a fast, lightweight alternative to conventional messaging. Instead of opening a full conversation and composing a message, users could select a contact and send a photo with a single tap. The disappearing-media design also placed Bolt in the same broad competitive landscape as Snapchat, although Bolt was developed and released by Instagram.
Bolt is often confused with Direct, Instagram’s later in-app messaging feature, or with Facebook Messenger. Those names refer to different products. Bolt was a separate application and part of Instagram’s short-lived collection of specialized stand-alone apps. Instagram followed it with Hyperlapse in August 2014 and Boomerang in October 2015.