Instagram Is Adding Video Masks to Instagram Live, Expanding Creative Options

Instagram’s adding their Snapchat-esque virtual masks to Instagram Live, giving users another creative option when broadcasting within the app.

Instagram added live-streaming back in November, tapping into the wider live-stream usage trend – though initially Instagram Live content was only available as it was being broadcast. Once your stream ended, the video was gone.

That gave Instagram Live a slightly more unique spin – but obviously that wasn’t as valuable as being able to save and re-use that live content, as Instagram added an option to save your streams once they’d ended in March.

More recently, Instagram’s added a live guest option, giving users more ways to broadcast, and maybe alleviate the pressure of going live by yourself. That may also be a benefit of this new update – while having the capacity to live-stream is great, it can also be intimidating, broadcasting video of yourself is far more confronting than posting a curated, manicured selfie.

Having the option to wear a virtual mask may help reduce that pressure, which could see more users trying it out, and eventually becoming more confident streamers.

The new video mask option will be at the bottom right of screen within your live broadcast – tap on the smiley face icon and it’ll bring up the various ‘face filters’ you can use.

“You can also try on the new sunglasses face filter — available exclusively in live video for the next week — and tap to change the scenery reflected in your lenses.”

Instagram has seen solid adoption of their Snapchat-like tools, and as such, it makes sense to see them add more in, doubling down on what’s working – while also heaping more pressure onto Snapchat.

Indeed, latest stats show that not only does Instagram Stories have more active users than Snapchat, but the rising adoption of Instagram is also significantly impacting Snapchat’s growth.

As Instagram’s video options improve, you can expect to see Snapchat further impacted, and with Facebook’s resources at their disposal, Instagram’s very well-placed to strangle the app’s growth.

Video face filters are only part of the wider equation, but each element is another weight added to Instagram’s side of the scale.