Not content with being the number one app for people who like to take cute brunch photos, Instagram rolled out a new feature on Monday. The updated feature lets viewers stream live video to Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. But do instagram live videos disappear? The short answer is yes – unlike many other live streaming services, Instagram live videos disappear from the app as soon as the stream ends, an interesting move by the company which has both negative and positive aspects.
The feature will be rolling out over the next few days, after a successful test, so interested users should check for updates to their app. According to Instagram’s help section, to start a live video on Instagram and start streaming worldwide, all users have to do is,
Faucet [the camera icon] at the top left of the screen or swipe right from anywhere in the feed.
And then,
Faucet Live at the bottom of the screen, then tap Start live video. Your followers can be notified when you start a live video.
Users can see the number of viewers at the top right of their screens and comments will appear at the bottom. (Although for people who prefer to stream without get comments, it’s possible to turn them off by tapping the ellipsis and selecting “Turn off comments”.)
And if you’d rather just watch someone else’s live stream, you can find top rated live shows to enjoy it under the “Explore” tab, where an algorithm selects the best content currently playing and curates it in the “Top Live” section.
Once users click “End” and tap to confirm, their live video disappears. A live stream won’t clutter up your feed, which goes along with Instagram’s clean aesthetic. And there is something pleasant and liberating about the ephemeral. The company itself says it made the decision “so you can feel more comfortable sharing anythingat any time.”
However, the only big downside is, of course, that if something really amazing happens in your live video and you fancy watching it again or sharing it with a friend who was busy when you started making your dance silliness/awesome acrobatics/hilarious biting commentary on whatever you were watching right now, you can’t. He was lost forever. (However, let’s be real. Someone will develop a workaround soon. Someone always does.)
Enjoy the new live feature! Don’t forget to get out once in a while, even if it means you might miss something cool.
