Instagram begins rolling out Live video

The Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app announced Monday morning that users will soon be able to share live videos from within its new Stories feature for disappearing posts.

But what sets Instagram Live video apart from the likes of Facebook Live and Periscope, is that users can only watch Live video while it’s being recorded live. That means the ability to share photos and vids that will disappear as direct messages to friends, family, and groups. The app also gets disappearing photos and videos within direct messages including group chats.

In the meantime, if you’re curious about how Instagram Live works, it’s as simple to go Live as it is to update your Story.

The announcement comes more than two months after Instagram launched Stories, which stitches together multiple posts captured in the same day.

In Instagram’s private messaging feature – Instagram Direct, which you access by tapping the paper airplane icon – you can send specific friends photos and video that are timed to disappear after they’re seen. The company has been testing this feature for a while now, and it’s finally coming to users.

“That was the genesis for Instagram Stories”. Instagram will beam your friends with a notification you went live. Naturally, Instagram users are wondering: can you see who viewed your Instagram Live story? Swipe right into the camera to take a photo or video, then tap the arrow to send it privately.

You can add typical embellishments that are now available in the Instagram app such as drawing on the picture, but no Snapchat style filters have been announced so far. Tap “Top Live” to see exciting live stories happening at that moment and swipe right and left to easily skip around. Message recipients will be able to “replay” a disappearing message, allowing them to see it twice.

The photo-sharing app has also made an update to its Direct service, which has more than 300 million monthly users.