In one fell swoop Instagram has decided to take on both its own sibling Facebook and rival Snapchat.
The app has unveiled both Live Video within the Stories section of the app and announced that self-destructing images and video are now available in either direct messages or group chats.
To go Live you simply swipe right on the Instagram homepage and you’ll now see the option to start recording live video in addition to your normal Story.
Friends will then get a notification that you’ve gone live and can comment and respond with Likes if they enjoy whatever antics you’re getting up to.
For those that prefer a more fleeting form of media you now have the option to take Snapchat-style self-destructing images and video.
Again simply swipe right and once the image or video has been taken you’ll have the option of sending it to either an individual person or a group.
Once they’ve seen it the image will disappear, as with Snapchat if the other person tries to replay it or take a screenshot you’ll get a notification telling you.