Like all social networks, Instagram faces serious privacy challenges; That is why, in recent years, it has gained controls and functions that allow us to limit the reach of our publications and prevent strangers from contacting us.
The function that Meta presented today continues in this direction, making it possible to make more private a function which, by definition, was not private: live broadcasting. The Instagram application now allows you to do live broadcasts using our cell phone camera, but it opens the door for people we don’t know to see us in situations we might not want to share with everyone. By default, any user who follows us can also see the live streams we create.
The new “Best Friends” feature lets you start a live stream that Only our closest friends can see in the app; specifically, those we added to the best friends list. These direct, or live, rooms will only be accessible to these users, so it will be a more intimate and comfortable experience for more people.
More specifically, live streams for Best Friends can only be seen by up to three additional people. Therefore, they are not designed to go “viral”, to connect with new friends or create new friendships. Rather, the idea is that we use them to speak more directly with our closest family or friends.
Instagram has shared ideas on how we can take advantage of this new option. For example, we can create live confidence sessions, where we can vent without fear of people we don’t want to hear. Or we can share experiences we are having or have had, like the soccer game we watched or show what we are doing right now.
Instagram’s goal with this launch is that more people dare to use the Live function of its application, and directly face competitors like Twitch or YouTube with an option that they do not have. Diffusion more personal and limited It will be very attractive for users who have no interest in becoming “famous” on the Internet and who until now had not even thought about the possibility of starting a live broadcast.
The “Best Friends” feature of Instagram Lives has launched worldwide, including Europe. As usual in this type of launch, the option will gradually reach all users, although it is important to keep the application up to date to guarantee its compatibility with the new function.
