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- Create AR effects for Instagram and Meta.Get Started
Where Effects Appear on Instagram
On Instagram, effects that have been published publicly can be found:
- Through the Instagram profile of the person that made the effect.
- In the effect tray — effects are stored if you save them or if you follow the creator.
- In people’s stories or reels.
- Through a link to an effect.
If you'd like to remove your effect from your profile but still want it to be available for people to use, you can hide your effect. If you want to hide your effect and limit who can use it, you should publish your effect as link only. Find out more about link only effects.
Search effects through Instagram profiles
When you visit an Instagram profile, you’ll see a list of the effects the account owner has made in the effects tab.
To find your effects from your own profile:
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- Above your feed tap the effects icon (the three stars).
You’ll see a gallery of all the effects you’ve published from your account:
If a person finds your effects from here, if they tap on any of your effects, they’ll have the option to Try it. They can also save your effect by tapping the save icon in the lower right-hand corner of the effect:
When they do this, the effect will appear in their effect tray in the Instagram camera — so they can quickly add it to any future stories and reels!
Browse effects in the effect tray
When you tap the Your Story or Camera button on the Instagram home screen, you’ll see the effect tray at the bottom of the screen. The effect tray shows effects from Instagram, effects from creators you follow and effects that you recently used or saved. Effects that represent businesses don’t appear in the effect tray.
In a story
When you view a story featuring an AR effect, the name of the effect is shown. In the example below, the effect is DXTRIX by a creator called haroldmintah.
If the effect is being used by the account that published it and the creator has enabled the swipe-up link, you can swipe up from the bottom of your device screen to try it out:
In a reel
Instagram Reels is a way to create and discover short, entertaining videos on Instagram. Similar to stories, users can add AR effects from the effect gallery or their camera tray to make their video more interactive.
When you view a reel featuring an AR effect, the name of the effect is shown. In the example below, the effect is Subtle and chchmoi is the reel creator.
Tapping on the effect name takes you to the effect page. Here, you can:
- Visit the profile of the effect creator.
- See reels created with this effect.
- Tap Use Effect to try it out.
Links to effects
When you've published an effect, a sharing link for the effect will be generated. To find this link:
- Go to Meta Spark Hub.
- Select Effects in the sidebar and then select your effect.
- Select Share in the top-right and copy the link.
If someone clicks the sharing link, it will open the effect in Instagram or prompt them to download the app if they don't have it installed.
Hide effects on Instragram
During publishing, select the toggle underneath the Hide effect on this Instagram profile heading to hide an effect from your profile’s AR effects tab:
When toggled on, the effect will not appear on your Instagram profile's AR effects tab.
To update existing effects in Meta Spark Hub:
- Click Effects in the sidebar.
- Click on the name of the effect you want to change.
- Click Visibility or Details.
- Navigate to Platforms, and toggle on Hide effect on this Instagram profile.
