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Instagram Introduces New Live Video Streaming And Disappearing Photos & Videos

Instagram

Instagram’s latest update sees the photo-sharing platform introduce new live video and disappearing photo & video features.

Rolling out globally over the next few weeks, the new features aim to give Instagram users more opportunities to connect with friends and family.

One of the updates is Live Video on Instagram Stories, which will enable the platform’s users to live-stream what they are doing, for up to an hour.

And with over 100m people using Instagram Stories every day, the platform is confident that Live Videos will quickly become very popular with users.

In a blog post, Instagram said: “Live video on Instagram Stories helps you connect with your friends and followers right now.

“When you’re done, your live story disappears from the app so you can feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime.”

To create a Live Video, users simply open up the in-app camera by swiping right across the home screen and pressing “Start Live Video”.

Friends and family using the app will also be notified when someone starts a Live Video, and to watch they just click the profile picture on the Stories bar at the top of the home screen.

Instagram

Other users can then comment and like the video during the stream, and the person recording can either pin comments, or just turn them off completely.

Once the Live Video is over, it disappears from the app.

To view more Live Videos happening on the mobile platform, users can go to the “Top Live” section of the Explore tab, where they can swipe left or right on videos depending on what they want to watch.

Instagram

The photo-sharing platform is also introducing a disappearing photo and video feature, which enables users to send Snapchat-style updates to their friends and family.

With this feature, users can take photos within the app by swiping right on the home screen and privately sending them by clicking the arrow.

The user’s photos and videos will then be displayed on a separate Stories-style bar at the top of the messenger screen for the recipient(s) to view just once.

Instagram

Instagram explains: “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.

“Whether your account is set to public or private, you can only send disappearing photos and videos to people who follow you.”

The new features are being rolled out now, and are expected to appear to all users over the next few weeks.

To find out more about Live Videos and disappearing photos and videos, please click here.

Emma Woodley

Emma is a reporter at Global Dating Insights. Originally from Surrey, she has studied Communication and Media at Bournemouth University and The University of Central Florida. She enjoys socialising with friends, exploring new places and can often be found with her nose in a book.

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