Starting Today, You Can Finally Try Out This New Instagram Feature

Beginning today, Instagram Stories' new Live tool is rolling out to everyone in the U.S. To try it out for yourself, just toggle from "Normal" camera mode to "Live" within Stories. At 12:45 p.m. today, Instagram will be hosting its own special live celebration.

Instagram is very quickly becoming the place to go for everything. Its newest major release: live streaming.

The app is following Facebook's lead and launching live video within Instagram Stories. You'll be able to easily record live footage and see who's watching and commenting. The process is similar to Facebook Live, which isn't a total surprise, since Facebook is Instagram's parent company. Will Instagram be the new place to discover viral videos like Chewbacca Mom? It's possible. However, unlike on Facebook, live videos on Instagram Stories will disappear when you finish recording, so this seems slightly less likely.

Instagram is also upgrading its direct messaging platform. Instead of just sending text, you'll be able to send individual friends and friend groups photos and videos that will disappear after a matter of seconds. Yes, this is almost identical to Snapchat. However, one major benefit of disappearing photos and videos on Instagram, is that when you share with a group, you can see everyone's responses in one thread. This way, your photos can initiate a larger group chat, rather than just a one-on-one conversation.

Live video will roll out to select users today and become available to everyone in coming weeks, but the new features for direct messaging are available now. Click through to check out how both will look in-app.