With its parent company currently stepping up promotion of its Live Video feature, it was just a matter of time before Instagram jumped in on the action as well.
It now appears that live-streaming on the app is a reality, as Instagram has confirmed that it is planning on the addition of a live video feature. In an interview with the Financial Times, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said, “Live is really exciting for us. I think it can enhance what we’re doing. If I’m trying to strengthen relationships with someone I love, them streaming video to me live would be an amazing way to be closer to them.”
Additionally, a round tile carrying a “live” icon is also featured alongside other Stories on the home feed. Clicking on the icon reportedly opens up a section entitled “popular live broadcasts,” although the user was presented with an error when attempting to access the page. Placing live videos next to Stories makes sense, seeing as both formats encourage spontaneous activity. The person was reportedly using a beta version of Instagram for Android.
Instagram recently launched a recommended Stories section within the Explore tab, meaning a similar curated list for live broadcasts wouldn’t be too much of a stretch.
Live video arguably makes more sense within the context of Instagram than it does within Facebook. The former already boasts a sizable audience (500 million users and counting) of photography enthusiasts and selfie lovers who are comfortable with documenting their lives and appearing onscreen. This makes them the ideal crowd for a live-streaming feature. Instagrammers have also fervently embraced Stories, with figures for the ephemeral slideshows reaching 100 million daily views just two months since the format’s launch.
While there’s no word yet as to timing, rest assured that at some point in the future, you’ll be able to use Instagram to get your live video fix, too.
Article originally published in October. Updated on 11-10-2016 by Lulu Chang: Added confirmation that Instagram is working on live video.
Discord is trying to push more visibility on the internet for some of its biggest communities, and there's a good chance your messages could end up in a Google Search. The platform is preparing to make conversations from certain public servers searchable on the web, so there's a privacy setting you might want to check before the rollout begins.
According to Discord's official announcement, the changes will roll out in two stages. Starting November 16, qualifying servers will have public web pages featuring automated summaries of conversations. By mid-December, individual messages from eligible public channels could also appear word-for-word in Google and other search engines.
You just opened X and started typing your thoughts. Imagine the jump scare when a hand suddenly pops up on your screen, pointing at the promote button. It doesn’t say a word and simply points. For a growing number of X users, this isn’t a made-up scenario but something they have been seeing since yesterday, and very few of them are amused.
Most of us have learned to tune out the usual in-app upsells, whether it’s a glowing upgrade banner or a pop-up about a premium plan. A floating hand hovering over your draft is much harder to ignore, and that’s probably the whole point.
Scroll through any app for five minutes, and you’ll find someone maxxing something. Their skin, their sleep, their protein intake, even their Friday night on the couch. That little suffix has been everywhere this year, and now it has a trophy to show for it. In a recent announcement, Dictionary.com named maxxing its 2026 Word of the Year.
What are people actually doing when they’re maxxing?