Instagram gets live videos, disappearing photos

Facebook-owned Instagram continues its quest to take on Snapchat with two new features this week.

The first new feature is live video for Instagram Stories, which is pretty self-explanatory.

“Live video on Instagram Stories helps you connect with your friends and followers right now. When you’re done, your live story disappears from the app so you can feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime,” Instagram says on its blog.

The two features are a big addition to Instagram, although they’re definitely inspired by Snapchat

“It’s easy to go live — just swipe right from feed to open the camera, tap the ‘Start Live Video’ button and start sharing for up to an hour. Your friends may get a notification when you go live so they can tune in. While you’re live, you can pin a comment for everyone to see or turn comments off altogether.”

The feature also allows you to explore live stories happening at that moment.

The second big feature is disappearing photos and videos in Instagram Direct, aping Snapchat.

“Unlike other messages in Direct, these photos and videos disappear from your friends’ inboxes after they have seen them. And you’ll see if they replayed it or took a screenshot,” Instagram explained.