Instagram is changing before our very eyes. The simple filter forward app that we knew long time ago has evolved to become a 500 million strong social network with aspirations to become the best out there.
For a while now, Instagram’s muse has been Snapchat, where the latter has become famous with its ephemeral messaging style of disappearing photos and videos. Now, Instagram has baked that very feature in the latest version of the app: Disappearing photos and videos in Instagram Direct.
You’ll now be able to send disappearing photos and videos directly to our friends or groups. It is quite easy to do this: You only need to do a swipe right gesture which will launch the camera interface. From there, you can take the photo and send it to your friend(s) by tapping on the arrow that is on the bottom right of the screen.
You’ll also be able to add fun effects just like how you’ve probably done on Snapchat. These messages will disappear from your friend’s inboxes when the time elapses and you will be able to see who screenshotted the media. In order to view these messages, you only need to tap on the new Direct button (a paper plane icon) where you will view these messages and the interface looks eerily like Snapchat’s Stories page.
The next feature is Live video and this is not new as it was spotted almost a month ago.
It is quite easy to start these Live broadcasts. You only need to make a swipe right gesture which launches the camera interface. Swipe further to “Live” and then you will be broadcasted live to your followers. When you are live, there will be a “Live” banner under your profile pic and your friends will be able to watch the broadcast by tapping it. There are also tools for moderating comments where you can turn on or off comments about your live broadcasts.
Instagram has made the Explore page a portal for connecting with other people so you will be able to find other live broadcasts made by people in the social network right within the tab.
This is a big move by Instagram and will sure make its users happy and companies like Periscope and Snapchat scared. Disappearing photos and videos are being rolled out globally today but Live video will be launched globally in the coming weeks.
