Instagram has promised many new updates last month from Video Chat, topic channels in Explore, and music for Stories. These all have been officially added to the platform today.
Video Chat in Instagram Direct
Now, you can video chat in Instagram Direct, either with just one person or a group. Video chat gives you the experience of real-time video in a private space and helps you feel close and connected to friends when you can’t be together. Your friends are already on Instagram, and with video chat, you can seamlessly connect across iOS and Android and without a phone number.
How to do video call?
To start a video chat, swipe into your Direct inbox and open any message thread. Tap the new camera icon in the right corner, and the video chat will ring your friends’ phones so they don’t miss it. While on the video chat, you can minimize the video and multitask on Instagram, sending messages and photos in Direct, browsing your feed, posting a story and more. Video chat is perfect for groups. You can video chat with up to four people at a time, and the video will expand as more friends join. If there’s an active video chat in a group thread, the camera icon will turn blue. Simply tap the camera to join in the fun. You can video chat with your friends for as long as you’d like. When you’re ready to leave the video chat, tap the red phone icon at the bottom.
Music To Stories
Now you can add a soundtrack to your story that fits any moment and helps you express how you’re feeling. Instagram Stories is now used by 400 million every day, and we’re excited to give our community new ways to feel closer to their friends and followers.
How to Add Music to your Instagram Stories
When you tap to add a sticker to a photo or video in Stories, you’ll now see a music icon. Tap on it to open a library of thousands of songs — you can search for a specific song, browse by mood, genre or what’s popular and tap the play button to hear a preview. When you’ve selected your song, you can fast-forward and rewind through the track to choose the exact part that fits your story.
