Instagram Now Lets You Go Live and Send Photos and Videos to Your Friends

Instagram introduced Instagram Stories in August that pretty much looked like a Snapchat rip-off. But this didn’t stop people from sharing moments throughout their day. Now, there are more than 100 million people using this feature every day! Staying true to the ‘moments’ theme, Instagram’s latest updates certainly allow users to share more freely and in the moment.

Got something to share instantly to your followers but don’t want it to permanently stay in your profile? Live video on Instagram Stories lets you do just that. It’s super easy. Just swipe right from your Instagram feed to access the camera and tap ‘Start Live Video’. You can share anything, anytime for up to one hour. Your followers will also be notified whenever you go live. Once you’re done, your live story will disappear from the app. So feel free to share comfortably!

To see someone you follow go live, ‘Live’ will appear below their profile photo in the Stories bar. Just like Facebook, you can comment and like a live broadcast as much as you want. The disappearing function makes you want to tune in to a live story instantly, perfect for those who love keeping tabs on their favourite celebrities and influencers!

Instagram’s second added feature allows you to send disappearing photos and videos directly to your friends or a group spontaneously on Instagram Direct. Again, just swipe right to access the camera and snap a photo or video, then tap the arrow on the bottom right corner to send privately. These photos and videos will vanish from their inboxes once they have seen them. Like Snapchat, you can only replay each photo or video once. In fact, you’ll also know if someone takes a screenshot of the photo or video you sent!

You may notice that a new paper plane icon has replaced your Instagram inbox at the top right corner. There will be disappearing photos and videos in the top bar. Blue rings indicate unseen messages from your friends. You can also see everyone’s response and who has seen your photos or videos in the form of a slideshow. Once you’re done, send a reply by tapping their faded profile photo.