Instagram will soon be updating their Stories feature, seeing that it is now used by over 100 million people every day.
Instagram Direct will also get an update, letting users send disappearing pictures and videos to groups and friends. According to Instagram’s official blog, Instagram Direct has grown significantly, going from 80 million users per month up to 300 million. The update will be rolling out to all devices with the app over the course of the following weeks.
Streaming on Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories was made available a couple of months ago, through which users were able to share photos and videos showing what they were doing at a specific time, providing an additional layer of interaction rather than just uploading photos to their profiles.
The Facebook-owned company assures that Stories helps users connect with their followers with ease, but with Live video, users can start the connection and have the content disappear after a while. This allows for a higher sense of security, but it does not mean that the content is wholly deleted from Instagram’s servers.
To use Live video, users must open the camera, swipe right and tap the “Start Live Video” option. Users can record up to one hour of video and even send notifications to their friends and followers so they can tune in to whatever is being broadcasted. While streaming, users can post a comment so everyone sees it when they tune in or even turn off commenting for everyone watching.
In Stories, users will see whenever someone they follow is streaming. Viewers can comment and Like, just like with a regular Instagram post. Live videos will also appear on the Explore tab, showcasing the most popular live stories happening around the user.
Disappearing photos and videos mimics Snapchat’s primary function, sending private messages and letting users send timed videos and photos that can be seen in short intervals of time.
Swiping right to the camera will put the app in capture mode, and an arrow on the lower part of the screen allows the user send the photo or video privately, in a similar way to what has been implemented so far on Direct. The messages alongside the photos and videos disappear after the receiver has seen them and a notification will appear if a screenshot is taken or if they are replayed more than once. Disappearing photos and videos are available for both private and public accounts.
Tapping the paper airplane icon on the upper part of the screen will show the user’s inbox. Disappearing photos and videos will be displayed at the bar located at the top of the window. Unlike Live Stories, disappearing photos and videos for Instagram Direct will be available today.
Now Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google allow live streaming. It seems that this type of interaction is actively sought by users, seeing that it lets anyone having their own portable TV station, having control over who sees them and for how long.
Source: Instagram