Instagram Live

To start an Instagram Live broadcast in the app, tap the plus icon, swipe to Live, choose a title and audience, and tap “Start Live Video”1. Scheduling lets people see broadcast details and request reminders, and Mosseri explained that a profile badge can alert profile visitors to an upcoming Live115. During a broadcast, viewers can comment and like; to invite a co-host, tap “Add people” in the bottom right and search for their username1. Instagram’s Live Producer provides another setup: select Live from the “Add post” menu on instagram.com, then connect streaming software such as OBS or Streamlabs using the supplied web address and stream key—the connection details that send the software’s video to Instagram8. Live Producer’s “Practice” audience broadcasts to nobody, while “Public” broadcasts to followers8. Examples of Live’s uses include musician Scott Mulvahill’s performances, described by Meta’s Newsroom, and Mosseri’s live conversations with news creator Mosheh and aspiring astronaut Alyssa Carson161718.

Instagram Live broadcasts sent through Direct let recipients join while the broadcast is running, but display an ended message afterward; hosts and viewers can send them using the Direct icon5. Instagram’s announcement places the option to disable this sharing in Stories settings and restricts private-account broadcasts to followers5. Saving a broadcast to a phone preserves the video without comments, likes, viewer counts or other live interactions9. Stories replays instead included the original comments and likes and remained available for 24 hours6. Mosseri explained in September 2022 that Archive includes Live broadcasts from the past 30 days19. Instagram said in June 2026 that it was exploring Live on television for shared real-time viewing, rather than announcing an available Live-on-TV feature20.

Instagram Live viewers can buy badges to support hosts, including those broadcasting with guests, and Mosseri said in October 2020 that purchases were available in 11 countries, including the United States221. Live fundraisers also work in shared broadcasts, but serve a different purpose: all money raised goes to the selected nonprofit27. Mosseri announced a subscriptions test including Subscriber Lives in January 2022, and Instagram’s July 2023 description explained that creators could set a monthly price and broadcast exclusively to paying subscribers322. Instagram’s November 2021 holiday programming included Live Shopping events featuring brands and guests, while its April 2022 announcement described viewers tapping pinned products, adding them to a cart and checking out without leaving the broadcast423. Those announcements document Live Shopping at those dates, rather than establish its current availability423.

Meta’s patents describe possible ways to recommend live broadcasts, rather than establish how Instagram currently recommends Live videos242526. Meta patents from October 2020 and July 2022 describe identifying a broadcast’s topic while it is streaming and selecting videos whose topics match a viewer’s interests2426. Those Meta patents then order matching videos by the predicted chance that the viewer will watch, like, comment on or share them, and propose displaying sufficiently high-ranked videos in a feed or another location2426. A May 2022 Meta patent describes grouping related live broadcasts, such as streams from the same event or location, to help viewers find different perspectives25. That Meta patent lists viewer counts, likes, reactions, comments and shares, and describes adding newly qualifying broadcasts and removing streams that have ended25.