How to see live streams on instagram
Finding Live Videos on Instagram — Here's How
Instagram, like all social media platforms, evolves. The latest major update happened in October 2021 which was the removal of IGTV.
Prior to this, users could search the hashtag #IGTV and view all live videos on Instagram.
Now, Instagram live videos are part of the “stories” feature.
Live video replays are only available for 24 hours, then they are added to the user’s “video archive”.
Whether they are republished as a video or deleted is entirely at the content creators’ discretion.
With that in mind, here is…
How to find live videos on Instagram
1. Search the video tab on individual accounts to see if they publish live videos
2. Follow the account of the person you want to see presenting a live video so that you get a notification when they next go live.
3. Tap the notification telling you that they are “live” when they go live.
Step 1. Find and follow the Instagrammer you want to see live videos from
Since IGTV was ditched, you cannot binge on random live Instagram streams or replays of broadcasts on Instagram.
What you can do instead is view the video archives on an Instagram account that has shared a recording.
To view these, you need to find the account you are interested in following.
There are 4 ways to search on Instagram
- By people
- By audio
- By tags (hashtags)
- By location
In the app, these are shown in the top navigation menu below the search bar.
To find accounts for live videos, search by people/account.
Once on the profile page that you are interested in following, you can get a sample of the types of content frequently shared.
To understand it, you need to know what the icons mean.
For videos, there are two symbols
The first is reels and this shows the video symbol with a film reel above it.
The second is the video play arrow.
Instagram reels are short videos up to 90-seconds.
Instagram videos are longer. 10-minutes in most cases.
Verified accounts can have video durations extended to 60-minutes.
Instagram video is a combination of the now-defunct IGTV (long-form video) and in-feed video posts. All videos are shown in collections in an “Instagram Video” category.
These symbols show in the feed of the accounts that you are viewing.
Whilst you can no longer find “live” videos that were displayed with the lightning bolt to show it was an Instagram Live video, you can find longer videos by looking for the single play arrow icon.
Not the one with the reel, which is for shorter-length video clips.
The square icons are image-only posts.
You can search by any other method, but considering it is people who go live, using the people search function is the fastest way to find live broadcast replays.
As an example using the tag search option to search for #productivity involved a lot of scrolling until finally, a video appeared.
When you see that, you can then click into the profile and search through the videos tab for that user’s account.
Searching for people first can save time from endless scrolling until you find some videos.
Step 2: Follow the accounts that do live videos
Once you have found an account (or more) that does post live videos, you need to follow the account to be notified when the user next goes live.
This is simpler if you are lucky enough to find a video that shows that the person “was live”. Then you definitely know they do live broadcasts.
Not all of them will be available to view.
Remember, live videos are only saved for 24-hours. Unless the creator publishes the archive footage, the video will not be available to view.
The only way to find out is to click on the video.
If it loads, voila. If not, you will see the video load with the duration of 0:00. This just means the video is converted to a cover only with the live video no longer available to watch.
Once you know the account does do live video, click the follow button.
When any account you follow goes live, you will get a notification on your phone that * person is live now then you can tap to instantly join the live stream.
If you are already in the app, any account that is live is shown prominently with the usual colorful ring but with the addition of the luminous pink badge saying “LIVE”.
Step 3: Tap to view the Livestream
The last stage is a waiting game because there is no telling when someone will be live, unless they have a schedule.
Like Live Tuesday Q & A’s or something. Then you know to expect a live broadcast on a Tuesday. Or Mindful Monday. Different topics have different themed events.
Whenever anyone you “follow” goes live, a notification is sent through the app.
You need to have push notifications enabled to be notified. Otherwise, you need to be logged into the app to see when someone is live.
Remember that not all live broadcasts are recorded and replayed. Those who do choose to share a live broadcast replay will have the recording discoverable in the video tab on their profile.
The video tab on any user’s account allows you to find shared live broadcast replays.
The difference between Instagram Videos and Reels
As you navigate through each user’s profile pages on Instagram, you will notice the video icons on both the Reels view and the Videos view. They are different.
Instagram Reels are for super short video clips or photo collage posts. Everything on Instagram is visual. Photos and videos.
Going into 2022, Instagram made a push to focus heavily on video format rather than image sharing. When IGTV was scrapped, part of the announcement mentioned that the platforms’ competitors are TikTok and YouTube.
As a method to strengthen their position, they split videos into long-form and short-form.
- Reels are short videos.
- Instagram Videos are all longer in length.
Every account has a Video tab and a Reels tab. Tap the video tab to view all videos longer than 90-seconds. Live broadcasts will be. Generally, the first couple of minutes is spent waiting for people to join.
Reels are light entertainment videos, similar to those published on TikTok.
Instagram Videos are a category covering live broadcast replays, video interviews, and more focused content that delves deeper into a topic, such as explainer videos, debates on current events or whatever a creator feels needs to have more airtime than a Reel would provide.
For that reason, if what you want is more live videos for increased interaction on Instagram, find and follow the accounts that do this type of content frequently.
And follow them!
If you do not follow the person, you will not find out when they go live.
The video tab in each profile is where to find replays of live video broadcasts, but only if the creator has shared the replay from their Instagram Live Archive.
Not everyone does, and even if they do, if they were not too satisfied with how a live video went, they may choose not to post the archive footage.
The only way to find recordings of live videos on Instagram is to search through the video tab on each account that catches your interest.
How to Find Live Videos on Instagram
On Instagram, you can find and watch live videos of people that you’re following.
You’ll be able to see people you follow who are live streaming at the top of your Instagram feed.
When someone goes live on Instagram, their profile picture will be marked as “LIVE”.
You can watch them live by tapping on their profile picture.
However, if you’re looking to watch random live videos on Instagram, you won’t be able to see them at the top of your feed.
This is because you can only see live videos of people that you’re following at the top of your feed.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to find, search, browse, or watch top and random live videos/live streams on Instagram.
How to find live videos on Instagram
To find live videos on Instagram, you need to watch an IGTV video and tap on “Browse IGTV”.
After you’ve tapped on “Browse IGTV”, you’ll be able to see random lives on Instagram.
To see more live videos, tap on “See All” and you’ll be able to see a grid list of them.
To find an IGTV video, you can search for the IGTV hashtag.
Then, tap on any video that has the IGTV icon to view it.
Do not view a non-IGTV video because you won’t be able to browse IGTV.
Keep in mind that live videos might not always show up.
This is because there aren’t many people who are live streaming on Instagram.
If that’s the case, you need to check back a few hours later.
Here are 6 steps to watch live videos on Instagram:
- Search for “IGTV”
- Tap on an IGTV video
- Watch the IGTV video
- Tap on “Browse IGTV”
- Tap on “See All”
- Watch random live videos
1.
Search for “IGTV”Firstly, open Instagram and log in to your account if you haven’t already.
On the bottom navigation bar, you’ll see multiple icons.
This includes a home icon, a search icon, a plus icon, and more.
Tap on the search icon on the bottom navigation bar to go to the explore page.
On top of the explore page, you’ll see a search bar.
Search for “IGTV” using the search bar.
Next, tap on “Tags” to see only the hashtag search results.
Then, tap on the IGTV hashtag (#igtv) to see posts that have the IGTV hashtag.
2. Tap on an IGTV video
After you’ve tapped on the IGTV hashtag, you’ll see a grid list of posts that have the IGTV hashtag.
Now, you need to find an IGTV video.
An IGTV video is marked with the IGTV icon.
Tap on an IGTV video (that has the IGTV icon).
Do not view a non-IGTV video as you won’t be able to browse IGTV videos.
3. Watch the IGTV video
After you’ve tapped on an IGTV video, it will expand.
If the video is an IGTV video, you’ll see a “Watch IGTV video” option.
However, if the video is not an IGTV video, you won’t see the “Watch IGTV video” option.
Now, you need to expand the video again.
To do so, tap on “Watch IGTV video” to watch the video on fullscreen.
4. Tap on “Browse IGTV”
After you’ve tapped on “Watch IGTV video”, the video will expand.
Now, you’ll be able to watch the video on fullscreen.
On the bottom right corner of the video, you’ll see a “Browse IGTV” option.
Tap on “Browse IGTV” to browse IGTV.
This will allow you to see random live videos/live streams on Instagram.
5. Tap on “See All”
After you’ve tapped on “Browse IGTV”, you’ll land on the IGTV page.
On the IGTV page, you’ll see a couple of headers.
This includes “Live Now” and “Videos For You”.
Under the “Videos For You” header, you’ll see recommended IGTV videos for you.
Under the “Live Now” header, you’ll see random live videos on Instagram.
You’ll also see a “See All” option next to it.
Tap on “See All” to see all live videos on Instagram.
Keep in mind that the “Live Now” section might not show up all the time.
This is because not many people are live streaming on Instagram.
If you don’t see it, you need to check back again after a few hours.
6. Watch random live videos
After you’ve tapped on “See All”, you’ll see a grid list of random live videos on Instagram.
Typically, the live videos at the top of the list have the most number of views.
In other words, the most popular lives are at the top of the list.
As you scroll down the list, the views get lesser and lesser.
Tap on a live video on the list to watch it.
You’ve successfully learned how to find and watch live videos on Instagram!
Conclusion
Finding live videos on Instagram is complicated because you need to browse IGTV videos.
Currently, there isn’t a “Top Live Videos” feature on Instagram, so you won’t be able to find popular live streams.
If you want to watch a live video of someone that you’re following on Instagram, you can tap on their profile picture.
However, if their profile picture is not marked as “Live Now”, it means that they are not live streaming on Instagram.
Keep in mind that the “Live Videos” section does not show up all the time.
If it doesn’t show up, you need to check back a few hours later when more people are live streaming.
Further reading
How to Hide Your Following List on Instagram
135+ Good Instagram Comments For Your Friends
240+ Funny Instagram Captions (For Friends & Selfies)
TagsInstagram
FacebookTwitterLinkedIn
How to watch live on Instagram
The rapidly growing Instagram application used for sharing photos and videos is at its peak today. With each update, users are offered more and more opportunities, thanks to which the social network is already becoming global.
The implementation of the live broadcast function further fueled the interest of the public. In fact, this is an online video recording with the possibility of commenting, which can also be saved. Thanks to this feature, celebrities, businessmen, bloggers, as well as ordinary users can broadcast live for various purposes (for example, communicating with fans, live advertising, informing subscribers about the company's work, services, and other points). Mere mortals can now reach for the stars by spying on someone else's life through Instagram. People whose accounts were created in support of their professional activities have new opportunities to increase interest in their person, product, etc.
The idea, by the way, is not new, similar functionality has already been implemented in Facebook and Periscope, however, a new feature in Instagram that appeared in early 2017 attracted everyone's attention and was warmly received by the public. So now live broadcasts on Instagram are the number one trend.
Anyone can capture the attention of an audience. At the same time, the live broadcasts of Instagram profile owners do not always carry a semantic load, so do not be surprised if the host of the broadcast behaves strangely, inappropriate behavior is not uncommon. Since the function is available to everyone and everyone, in a fit of frantic desire to speak out and express themselves, users sometimes forget about decency. Basically, the broadcasts are still thematic and are created for a specific purpose, whether it is attraction to a business, contact with subscribers, training, etc., or maybe the broadcaster just wanted to share his thoughts on any occasion. Not all users know how to find and watch a live broadcast on Instagram, we will deal with this issue.
How to find a live broadcast on Instagram
Broadcasts are displayed on the top bar above the news feed, where the stories are. So, if the user you are following is now live, then the thumbnail of his account will be surrounded by a colored ring, and the corresponding inscription “Live” will appear under it.
You can join the view from the profile of the person who records the video online (a standard button in the form of a triangle "Play" will be available at the bottom of the user's avatar). Only the user who organized the shooting can save content to devices for subsequent publication or other purposes, but this function is not available to viewers, so other people's saved broadcasts can be viewed when the profile owner posts them on their page. At the same time, at the top of the record, it will be indicated when this broadcast was held.
Popular Instagram live streams can be viewed from the main search page. At the same time, the video is available in the recommendations if it is viewed by more than 500 users. You can receive notifications about the start of broadcasts if you subscribe to a profile. Thus, the organization of communication with subscribers is more efficient. The profile owner also has the opportunity to hide the broadcast from certain persons by specifying them in the settings, because no matter what the purpose of the broadcast is (increase the number of subscribers, inform about something, etc.
), different personalities can join it, including including unwanted ones.
How to watch from your phone
You can connect to the broadcast at any time of the broadcast, you don't have to log in at the beginning, and you can also watch a friend's recorded live broadcast if he posted it on his Instagram page. A confident user does not have questions about how to do this, but many users have just begun to join the ranks of Instagram fans and have not yet had time to navigate. Watching a broadcast from an iOS or Android phone is very simple:
- First you need to open the application on your smartphone and log in.
- We see thumbnails above the feed of publications, select the desired profile (in a colored circle with the inscription "Live") or find a popular broadcast in the search. If you are not subscribed to the user whose broadcast you want to watch, you can find him in the search, after which by clicking on the main photo (avatar) we connect to the live broadcast (the owner will see the users who have joined).
While watching, you can leave comments in the comment box below, click likes, and if you do not keep up with the unfolding events on the air, you can rewind the chat.
How to watch from a computer
The web version of Instagram has limited functionality, so you will need to install additional tools to watch live on a computer. There will be no problems with this, the necessary software is available on official resources (in the application store, on the developer's website). You can provide conditions for the ability to watch live broadcasts on the Instagram social network from a computer using the following tools:
- Android emulator.
- Instagram application.
- Browser extension.
Android emulator
We will emulate the Android environment on a computer in order to run a mobile application using the popular BlueStacks application.
If you have an emulator, by launching it, you get the opportunity to work in exactly the same way as if you were using a smartphone, including downloading and using mobile software. First, the Android simulator needs to be installed into the system by downloading the distribution kit from the official website of the developer. The procedure is standard - download, select the installation path, accept the terms of the agreement, after which the installation is performed automatically. Next, do the following:
- Launching BlueStacks. At the first start, you will have to wait a little while the program scans the system and applies the appropriate settings.
- Upon completion of the setup process, you need to log in to your Google account.
- After logging in, go to the "Application Center" tab, from where any Android applications will be available to us. In the search field on the right, we drive in the query Instagram.
- Among the results, select the first official Instagram client in the list and install it by pressing the appropriate button, after installation the software will appear in the "My Applications" tab.
- Click on the Instagram icon, after launching, enter your profile authorization data.
- Now, you can watch users' live broadcasts on Instagram through a computer in the same way as on a smartphone. At the top of the interface, thumbnails of friends' profiles are available, and those who are broadcasting will be marked. Select the broadcast by clicking on the avatar.
Instagram application for Windows 10
For earlier versions of the Windows operating system, for example, if you have "Seven", this method will not work. We use it in the case when the computer is "Ten". To watch live on Instagram from a computer, do the following:
- Installing an application from the Microsoft store.
- Run the software, enter the profile authorization data (if missing, create it).
- Stories will now be available at the top of the interface. If a user starts a broadcast, their profile thumbnail will be marked with a "Live" icon and you can join to watch the broadcast.
Browser extension
Another way to watch Instagram live is to install the special Chrome IG Story add-on for the Google Chrome browser, for which we follow these steps:
- In the Chrome browser, go to the extension store.
- In the left block in the store search bar, enter the query Chrome IG Story.
- Select the desired add-on from the list of results and install it by pressing the corresponding button, confirming the action.
- After installation, the extension will be available in the browser section (three dots in the upper right corner of the interface, select "Additional tools" - "Extensions"), where you can manage all installed add-ons (enable, disable, remove).
- Click on the extension icon, as a result of which a window with user stories will open, to go to the broadcasts, click "Explore", live broadcasts will be available here. To join the viewing, simply click on the desired broadcast.
Broadcasts can be searched by name, tag or geolocation.
In addition to accessing live broadcasts, you will also have the opportunity to download user stories to your computer.
How to watch live on Instagram anonymously
The user who created the broadcast can only see the number of viewers. You can see who exactly is present only by comments and likes, as well as when a person has just joined. If you do not want to show your presence, act as an observer, just watch the broadcast without commenting or pressing hearts. At the same time, many do not want to show even their appearance for a short time. To watch stories or live on Instagram anonymously, you can use one effective spy method that does not even require an Instagram profile registration. We only need the Telegram messenger installed on the device. It is interesting, including the fact that it makes it possible to use functional bots for various purposes. So, to view stories and live broadcasts incognito, we will use the IgSpyBot bot built into Telegram:
- Open the messenger, go through the account authorization (create a profile if you don't have one) and go to "Contacts".
- In the search bar, enter the address of the @igspybot bot, select it when it appears in the results and add it to contacts.
- Launch the bot in the dialogue window with it.
- We send a message to the bot, the content of which will be @nickname of the user whose broadcast, stories, etc. we will watch. We put the dog in front of the name, we send it.
- In the menu that appears, select the user's broadcasts and the desired broadcast from those available in the list.
- We are waiting for the content to load, after which we can view or download to the device.
Live broadcasts on the net are far from new, and watching broadcasts, as well as creating them, is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. After reading the detailed instructions on how to do this, even inexperienced users do not have questions.
Instagram Live feature: how to launch and how to watch
Have you ever dreamed of becoming a live broadcast star and impressing everyone with your beauty, sparkling humor and amazing intellect? If yes, then your time has come! Instagram has a live feature!
Now any user can go live directly from his phone and express everything that is boiling.
Or share the beauty that you see around. Or tell a funny story that just happened to him.
How it works, how to enable live broadcast on Instagram and how to watch it, what features this format has - read about all this below!
When and why did the live broadcast function appear on Instagram
In Russia, live broadcast on Instagram appeared at the beginning of 2017 (for me personally, this function began to work in full in February 2017). Prior to this, similar functionality was in Periscope and Facebook (live broadcasts). And everything would be fine if your audience "sat" on Periscope and Facebook. If your audience is on Instagram, then dragging it to other social networks is very difficult and inconvenient. That's why everyone was waiting for when it would be possible to broadcast live on Instagram itself. And so we waited!
Now you can communicate with subscribers face to face, ask questions to idols directly, conduct your own interviews and spy not only on the sleek life in the photographs, but also on the real life that is happening right now.
Live on Instagram: how it works
As with any new product, there are many nuances and peculiarities with live broadcasts. Let's take a look at the points that are already working.
How to make a live broadcast on Instagram
If you want to start your own broadcast, then you need to go to the section Stories , select the "live broadcast" mode and start broadcasting.
Please note that if you are going to be live streaming for a long time, holding the phone in your hand will most likely be tiring. Much easier to put it on a tripod, lean against a stack of books or a wall, or put it on an open laptop (this is what I do).
The maximum duration of the broadcast is about an hour. However, as the survey showed, usually no one stays until the very end, so it’s best to count on 20-25 minutes.
Instagram live videos are not saved. At least for now. Once you stop the broadcast - and that's it, no one else will watch the video.
UPD From March 20, 2017, live broadcasts can be saved to your phone. To do this, after the end of the broadcast, click on the "Save" button with an arrow in the upper right corner.
UPD from June 2017 live broadcast can be saved and placed in stories for 24 hours.
When you start a live broadcast, some of your friends will be automatically notified about this so that they can quickly connect to you. If someone is online at that moment, they will see a pop-up right in the feed.
How to watch Instagram live from your computer
You can watch Instagram live from your computer if you have the Instagram app for Windows installed. You can download it here .
UPD In April 2020, the web version of Instagram was updated, now you can watch live from your computer without downloading additional applications.
How to watch Instagram live from phone
When one of your subscriptions goes live, Instagram sends notifications about it.
Unfortunately, notifications do not always come. But in the story feed, live broadcasts are directly signed - “Live broadcast”. You just have to click on the avatar of the person you want to watch, and you get on the air.
If you went to someone's profile and at the moment this person is live, there will be a corresponding mark on his avatar about this.
What viewers can do "live"
When you watch a live broadcast, you can do 3 things:
- write a comment;
- send hearts;
- hide chat.
To write a comment, you need to click on the bar with the word "Comment". You will have a keyboard and you can write and send your message. It will appear in the general chat on the screen.
If you have nothing to say, but you want to support the broadcast, you can send hearts. To do this, poke in the lower right corner on the heart. You can send as many hearts as you like. You can bring down the heart waterfall right away.
The broadcaster will be pleased!
If the broadcast is interesting and the chat distracts you, you can hide it. To do this, simply tap on the screen. If you want to return the chat - poke the screen again. By the way, if you yourself are broadcasting and the chat distracts you, you can also hide it by tapping on the screen.
Nicks in the chat are not clickable, it will not work to go to the account by clicking on someone from the chat.
How to pin a comment live
Only the author of the live broadcast can pin a comment. This is handy if you get asked the same question a million times. In this case, you can write an answer to this question and fix your comment. To do this, click on it and select "pin comment" in the menu that appears.
It's also handy if you're talking about a book, movie, or event that you have a link to in your profile. You can also write “registration for the Lyalal event via the link in the header of my profile” and fix this comment.
Live chat can be "rewound"
Sometimes the chat is updated very quickly and it is difficult to follow the messages. Fortunately, the chat can be "scrolled". Just touch the screen in the chat area and swipe up or down to rewind the conversation and find the right message or question.
Popular live streams
Popular live streams, as well as stories and posts, are displayed on the search page. So far, there are broadcasts on which there are more than 500 people.
Notifications about live broadcasts are received only by those who are subscribed to the author of the broadcast. This makes live streaming relatively safe and reduces the chance of bots, psychos, and “show boobs” comments (such comments are not uncommon on Periscope, for which many people disliked it). You will communicate with those who sympathize with you and follow you.
But if your broadcast hit the “popular” list, wait for questions from the series: “Who is this anyway?” and “What the hell is she talking about?”.
Well, “show boobs”, of course, where without them, because anyone can look into your broadcast.
Live on Instagram: personal experience
Before writing this article, I tested live on Instagram for a month, launching them almost every day. On February 11, I made a live broadcast about live broadcasts, where I conducted a small survey among my viewers. It was thanks to that broadcast that I learned about the possibility of hiding the chat and pinning a comment! Many thanks to everyone who came then!
The whole truth about the live broadcast on Instagram
If you expected that live broadcasts will show you heavenly beauties and give you amazing insights, then no. Sometimes, including live broadcasts, you can see this:
In the "Popular" section, there are popular live broadcasts too. And there are broadcasts when a person is simply silent. He just stays silent, looks into the camera, leaves the frame, returns to the frame, zooms in on the camera.
.. And all this is silent. And this broadcast is watched by 6,000 people. And I also came across a live broadcast where a young man picked his nose. Also, by the way, silently.
Live broadcasts are addictive
Why do such strange broadcasts exist? Because this new feature is addictive. I felt it myself.
When you first start a live broadcast, you are curious and a little scared. The second time the fear goes away and there is a desire to share something with the audience. For the third time, you want to go on the air, even if you have nothing to say, because you get hooked on questions, likes and attention to your person. You feel like a star and it's addictive.
It is because of this dependence that the air is full of empty and meaningless broadcasts from "talking heads" when people go on the air just to get on the air.
How to bring viewers to your broadcast
Live broadcast notifications do not always come.
Because of this, some subscribers may miss your inclusion. To prevent this from happening, plan live broadcasts in advance and make announcements in stories, posts, or both. Of course, this does not guarantee you record views and it is unlikely that someone will cancel cases for you, but readers will at least have the choice and the opportunity to set a reminder at the right time, even if the notification from Instagram itself does not come.
Live stream attendance
In my experience, there are fewer live stream viewers on weekends. On weekdays, an average of 50 people connected to me, on weekends - 20. If you have prepared an interesting and important topic, it is better to release it on weekdays, so it will gather more viewers, you will get more questions and the broadcast will be more interesting.
Live broadcast is a way to devirtualize
The word “devirtualization” appeared in the LiveJournal era. It means a real meeting after a long virtual communication.
In the case of a live broadcast, you can meet many of your readers at once and for this you do not have to book a room and go somewhere.
De-virtualization can also affect account activity. "Live" broadcast gives a much greater emotional connection with subscribers. You become for them not a person "behind the scenes", but a real and living companion.
True, there may be an opposite effect here, if you were presented as an erudite intellectual on your account, but on live air you seemed completely different, readers will be disappointed.
Topic of the broadcast
Only celebrities can afford to remain silent on the air. In the case of ordinary bloggers, viewers are more interested in watching thematic broadcasts or broadcasts with answers to questions (also on a given topic).
Here, however, there is also a peculiarity. Viewers connect to the air at different times. As a result, there is always someone who missed the beginning and does not understand what it is about, and even the same questions appear in the chat several times.
