For week, rumors have swirled that Instagram was working on its own implementation of live video to complement Facebook’s, and today, the company officially announced the feature.
Live video is incorporated into the service’s new Snapchat-cloning Stories feature. It’s a new option on the Stories camera screen and followers can get an alert when users go live. Live video will also be featured prominently in the app’s Explore section. There’s not a whole lot here you haven’t already seen: liking and commenting and whatnot.
The other feature they’re cribbing from elsewhere is disappearing messages, which are incorporated into the app’s messaging feature, Instagram Direct. Icons with blue rings around them will signal when the contents are temporary.
Both features should roll out to users in the next week or so.
