Instagram users can now host Live sessions exclusively for their Close Friends, as the app announced an update enabling users to broadcast only to their Close Friends list.
Before this change, Instagram Live sessions were automatically public, allowing anyone to join, even if they weren’t following the user.
With the new feature, users can choose to share their Live session only with Close Friends and can add up to three co-hosts to the broadcast.
This update is part of a series of small enhancements to Instagram’s features.
Additionally, users can now add music to carousels that include videos, a feature previously limited to photo carousels.
The European Union (EU) authorities have initiated a formal probe into Facebook and Instagram due to concerns about child safety.
The Commission has expressed worries that the platforms’ systems, including their algorithms, might exploit the vulnerabilities and naivety of minors, potentially leading to addictive behaviours and exacerbating the so-called ‘rabbit hole’ effect.
This effect involves pulling users deeper into increasingly disturbing content.
Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, remarked that Meta has not sufficiently demonstrated compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).
In March, Instagram unveiled plans to develop a feature called “Spins” for its Reels platform, a short-form video format similar to TikTok, the company has confirmed to TechCrunch.
This feature, initially discovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, would enable users to replace the text or audio in others’ Reels. The app specifies that Spins is currently an internal prototype and is not undergoing external testing.
The Spins feature could potentially serve as a means for users to initiate trends by crafting templates that others can personalize with their own creative touch.