How it works.
A short walkthrough — start to finish, in plain English. About a five-minute read.
Step 1Sign up
Enter your name and email on the sign-up page. We send a confirmation link so we know it's really you. Click the link, and you're in.
There are two kinds of accounts: personal (for sharing with family and friends) and business (for sending updates to your customers). Pick one when you sign up.
Step 2Connect with people
Two ways to connect with someone:
- Send them an invite. Type their email, and instruments sends a private link. When they sign up through it, you're auto-connected.
- Send a Link Up request. If they're already on instruments, you can find them through a friend's circle and send a request. They accept, you're connected.
Both sides have to say yes. Connections on instruments are always mutual. There's no such thing as a one-way follower.
Step 3Post
Tap Share something on your profile. Type what you want to say, add a photo if you want, and choose who it's for:
- Friends. Visible to everyone you're mutually connected with.
- Only me. A private note — visible to you and no one else. Optionally drop it into a folder you've created.
Text-only posts are fine. Sharing that the kids made waffles is just as good a post as the photo of the waffles.
Step 4See what's new
Your home feed is a single stream of recent posts from the people you're connected with and the businesses you've subscribed to. Most recent first. No algorithm — just chronological.
You can comment on a friend's post if you're both in each other's circle. Comments stay scoped to the same circle — strangers don't see them, and they can't add their own.
Step 5Subscribe to a local business
If a local shop you visit is on instruments, they'll have a private code — printed at the counter, on a receipt, or texted to you. Enter the code on your Following page and their posts start showing up in your feed alongside the ones from your friends.
Unsubscribe anytime with a swipe. Businesses never see your timeline — the relationship is one-way by design.
The privacy model, in one paragraph
Posts from people are visible only to the author and to people the author is mutually connected with. Posts from businesses are visible only to the customers who entered that business's private code. There is no public feed, no directory, no search across users, and no way for a stranger to see anything you post.
Settings worth knowing
- Folders. Organize private posts into themes — "kids," "recipes," "trip to Italy" — for your own memory.
- Time windows. Control how far back your posts stay visible to friends, and how far back you see theirs. The default is generous; tighten it if you want.
- Silence. If someone you're not connected with is being unpleasant in a friend's comments, you can silence their comments from your view. They aren't notified. (You can't silence mutuals — disconnect them instead.)
- Account close. Closing your account starts a 7-day grace period. You can cancel anytime during it. After that, your account is deleted for good.
What's not here
These are intentional. We aren't planning to add them.
- Push notifications. instruments doesn't pull at your attention.
- Likes, reactions, or view counts. Nothing to optimize for.
- An algorithm. Posts are in the order they were made.
- DMs. You already have ways to message the people you love.
- Public profiles or search. Finding someone is something both of you choose.
- Ads. instruments has no business model that depends on your time.
That's the whole thing. Sign up, connect with a few people, share something. It works the way it looks.
Questions? hello@instruments.org.