From today (Tuesday, 22nd November) onwards, Instagram will be leading you into a whole new world.
The photo sharing app has introduced 2 new updates: live videos on Instagram Stories as well as disappearing photos and video for groups and friends in Instagram Direct.
The first feature that was introduced, live videos, enable users to live stream their activities to all of their friends and followers. The streams can go up to an hour-long, and will be available for all to watch as long as the streamer is still active. When the live stream ends, the live story will disappear from the app. Instagram believes that this will allow users to “feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime”.
How do you use this new feature? It’s easy, just open the Instagram Stories camera, tap the “Start Live Video” button, and ta-dah, you’re ready to go!
Friends and followers will get a notification when you go live, and when you’re streaming, you can pin a comment for everyone to see, or alternatively, you can switch off the comments function altogether to avoid potential hate comments.
So, how do you know if someone is live? Well, you’ll be able see the word “Live” under their profile photo in the stories bar. Bored of your friends’ broadcast? Simply go to the explore tab and select “Top Live” to see exciting live stories happening at that moment, and if there’s ever a boring moment, feel free to swipe left and right to forward or rewind.
Watch this video to understand the function more:
https://vimeo.com/192221148
Meanwhile, users will also be able to send videos and photos that will disappear once the receiver sees it.
In Instagram’s words:
“Swipe right into the camera to take a photo or video, then tap the arrow to send it privately. You can choose a group or create one in just a few taps — and you can also send to individual friends at the same time. Send anything you want, from inside jokes to your worst selfies. Unlike other messages in Direct, these photos and videos disappear from your friends’ inboxes after they have seen them. And you’ll see if they replayed it or took a screenshot.”
However, take note that you’ll only be able to send it to people who follow you.
We’ve talked about sending videos and photos, but what if you’re on the receiving end?
Whenever you receive a message, you can access them via the blue airplane icon at the top right corner of your feed. The temporary messages will appear at the top of the tab. If you’re in a group, you will be able to see everyone’s responses and the people who have seen them in a slideshow format.
Explore the feature here:
https://vimeo.com/192220333
If you don’t see the functions on your app yet, fret not, as live videos will be rolled out in stages over the next few weeks while users will be able to send disappearing messages and videos over the course of the next few days.
For more info, visit Instagram’s blog and Facebook page.
Source: Instagram.
