Instagram’s new broadcast feature allows four people to go live at once

Facebook-owned Instagram today unveiled a new live broadcast feature, dubbed Live Rooms, that lets you go live on the service with up to three people. Before the change, you could go live with only one other person in a live broadcast stream.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • The feature gives creators new ways to earn money.
  • Blocked accounts cannot be added to the broadcast.
  • Reporting, blocking and comment filtering are supported.
  • It requires Instagram 177.0 or later.

Instagram says that the comment filtering as well as reporting and blocking features are available in Live Rooms, as are any other features that are currently available to Live hosts.

“We’re also exploring more interactive tools such as offering moderator controls and audio features that will be available in the coming months,” Instagram noted.

Accounts that are blocked by any of the active participants in the Live Room are prohibited from joining your Live. Furthermore, guests who have had live access revoked because of community guideline violations also won’t be able to join a Live Room.

How to start a Live Room on Instagram

The process of starting a live broadcast with up to three additional people is fairly straightforward, you just swipe and pick the Live camera option, then add up to three guests.

  1. Swipe from left to right in your Instagram feed to get to the camera.
  2. Swipe across the bottom to the “Live” shooting option.
  3. Now add a title to your broadcast.
  4. Touch the “Rooms” icon.
  5. Add up to three guests to your broadcast.

You can add a person who’s already requested to go live with you (or go live with anyone you fancy). Upon starting a Live Room, you’ll remain at the top of the screen when adding guests.

According to the official announcement:

As a broadcaster, you can add up to three guests at once or one by one (for example, you could start with two guests, and add a surprise guest as the third participant later!) Going live with multiple guests is a great way to increase your reach, as guests’ followers can also be notified.

Live Rooms requires Instagram 177.0r or later.