Confirmed—Instagram is Launching Multi-User Live Streams

Updated on 2/12: 

During an interview on the late-night show A Little Late With Lilly Singh, Instagram big-wig Adam Mosseri confirmed that Instagram Live chats will allow multiple participants in the coming weeks.

“We have been working on live groups – finally. […] We’re releasing the ability to go live with more than one other person, so with up to four other people, in the next couple of weeks, which we’re really excited about.” Check out this YouTube clip to see the update in action.

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Just a few weeks after debuting the updated home feed, Instagram is in the beta-testing phase of another big update. The social media platform has begun preliminary testing for three users to join an Instagram Live. This is exciting news for lovers of the ‘gram, especially those who indulge in Live streams as a way to connect with followers and the larger community. While this testing is, at the moment, only available to Instagram users in India, the social media giant has long hinted at updates to how you can go live, and it likely won’t be long until this new feature is available across the globe. 

It’s no secret that the use of video chat platforms has absolutely sky-rocketed since the start of the pandemic, evidenced by the sudden popularity of Zoom, Houseparty, TikTok Live, and more. Instagram’s Live feature is no exception to this uptick in video-chatting popularity. For the first few months of staying home, it felt like everyone from your favorite celebrities and influencers to the high school lab partner you hadn’t spoken to since graduation were suddenly going live on their Instagram profiles. 

If you’re based in India and itching to try out this new feature, we’ve got you covered.

How to Go Live With Three or More Users

1. Open Instagram, and tap the plus icon at the top right of your screen. Or, tap your own user icon from your home screen or from your own profile. 
2. Swipe across the bottom of your screen to the “Live” setting. 
3. You can only add users to your Live once you actually go live and they start viewing your Live, so don’t be surprised if you can’t add anyone right away! Once they do start viewing your Live, you’ll be able to invite them by tapping the invite icon (two smiley faces).
4. Once there, you’ll be able to tap your friend’s name, and then tap “add.” To add more than one user, simply repeat the process. 
5. Get to streaming!

The process for going Live and adding friends is the same for all Instagram users, but only users in India will be able to add more than one friend (at least for now).

Pro-tip: Once you do go live, and depending on your objective, you should give your video a title and a description. This will help pique your follower’s interest and those who aren’t necessarily following you but might be interested in your content. You’re also able to tag whoever you invite to join you in the description.

When you finish your Live, you’ll be prompted to download the video, save it to your profile, or delete it entirely. What you do with your content is completely up to you, but be careful! Once you delete a Live, you won’t be able to recover it.

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