New Delhi: Instagram has made changes to users' ability to livestream on the app . Now only accounts with at least 1,000 followers can access the live streaming feature. This change comes shortly after the company introduced new DM and blocking features in India. Users can still connect with their followers via video calls, regardless of the number of followers they have.Already, many users have pointed out that the imposition of a limit on the live feature, and the ability to livestream, is likely to diminish any discoverability perks that come with using livestreams. Unfortunately, Instagram has not provided any explanation for this change.In any case, the general consensus is that live streaming is an incredibly resource-heavy process for many social media companies, and Instagram likely deemed it not worth the expense of funding live broadcasts for only a small audience.To stop unwanted content Another perspective is that the company could have limited this feature to stop the live-streaming of inappropriate or pornographic content. If such channels are disabled, they would then need to reach 1,000 followers again before they can live-stream. Capping live-streaming to 1,000 followers would further enhance the quality of the live-stream, as there is guaranteed to be some audience to engage. Is consistent with other services As with other services, this change satisfies the standards of other services; for example, YouTube requires at least 50 followers to access live-streaming, while on TikTok, they require at least 1,000 followers to access that feature. Similarly, Instagram has rolled out two new features aimed at enhancing the safety and experience of its teenage users. Now, if a teenager tries to start a conversation with another user, even if they mutually follow each other, a safety reminder will pop up. The safety reminder encourages looking more closely at the other user’s profile and suggests not sharing much information if things seem suspicious.Furthermore, Instagram has decided to display the month and the year an account was created just above the chat. This update has been made to assist teenagers in identifying potentially phony accounts, particularly those that may be created by scammers.
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