Getting started with a ‘Live video; on an Instagram story is simple. Users need to swipe right from the feed to open the in-app camera, tap the ‘Start Live Video’ button and start sharing. The ‘Live videos’ can be of up to 1 hour in duration. Users’ friends and followers get a notification when a live video is started. It’s also possible to pin a comment on the video for everyone to see or disable comments altogether. During the broadcast, it’s possible to like and comment as well.
The new ‘Top Live’ section will allow users to browse through the ‘Live stories’ that are happening at that moment in time.
In another recent update, Instagram rolled out some Snapchat-like features. The update brings support for adding stickers to its ‘Stories’ feature. The photo-sharing app’s users can add stickers to their Stories using a new button, which appears when they take a photo or video. The button is placed next to the text and drawing tools. Tapping on the smiley face offers customizable stickers for weather, current time and location.
The location stickers work in a similar manner. Users watching your story can tap the stickers to see more about the location. Along with this, users can move them around, increase/reduce their size and choose from different styles depending on the story mode.
Apart from stickers, Instagram Stories is also getting a new ‘hands-free’ mode. Using it, users can record a video with a tap instead of needing to tap and hold.
