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Even easier and more private than our web appUpdated January 2026
Complete guide to Instagram Live streaming. Start your first Live, add guests, and engage your audience.
Quick Answer
Swipe right to camera → Swipe to "Live" → Tap the Live button. Your followers get notified and can join immediately. Lives can last up to 4 hours.
Swipe right from your feed or tap + and select 'Live'
At the bottom of the screen, swipe to select 'Live'
Tap 'Title' to add a topic so viewers know what to expect
Tap the settings icon to choose who can watch
Tap the Live button to begin broadcasting
Tap 'End' in the top right, then choose to share or discard
Add guests
Invite up to 3 people to join your Live
Live chat
Interact with viewers through real-time comments
Hearts & reactions
Viewers can send hearts and reactions
Q&A mode
Highlight questions from your audience
Shopping
Tag products during your Live (business accounts)
Schedule Lives
Announce upcoming Lives to build anticipation
Up to 3 guests can be on your Live at the same time.
Check lighting, audio, and internet before going live
Post Stories or schedule the Live so followers know
Read names and respond to comments throughout
Know your topic but stay flexible for audience questions
Longer Lives (15-30+ min) give more people time to join
Share to IGTV/Reels or download for repurposing
Going live regularly?
Lives boost engagement and attract new followers. Track who follows and unfollows to measure your Live's impact.
Check your followersOpen Instagram → Swipe right to camera (or tap + and select 'Live') → Swipe to 'Live' at the bottom → Add a title if desired → Tap the Live button. Your followers will be notified that you're live.
Instagram Lives can be up to 4 hours long. After 4 hours, the stream automatically ends. You can immediately start a new Live if you want to continue. Most successful Lives are 15-60 minutes.
During your Live, tap the faces icon at the bottom → Tap 'Add' next to someone who requested to join, or search for someone → They'll get a notification to join. Up to 3 guests can join simultaneously.
Yes! When setting up your Live, tap 'Schedule' instead of going live immediately. Choose your date and time (up to 90 days ahead). Followers can set reminders, and it appears in your profile.
Yes. After ending your Live, tap 'Share to Reels' to post a clip, or 'Download' to save to your device. You can also share the full video to your profile. Lives are available in your Archive for 30 days.
By default, all your followers can see and join your Live. You can also share it to your Story afterward. You can hide Lives from specific people by going to Settings → Privacy → Live → Hide Live.
Possible reasons: 1) Account is too new (usually need 24+ hours), 2) You've violated community guidelines, 3) Feature is rolling out in your region, 4) App needs updating. Try updating Instagram and waiting a day.
Yes, followers receive a notification when you go live (unless they've turned off live notifications). Your Live also appears at the front of the Stories tray with a 'LIVE' badge, making it highly visible.