Instagram Will Let You Add Friends To Your Live Broadcasts With Co-Streaming Feature

Instagram is adding an interesting new feature to the live streaming platform it launched late last year. The Facebook-owned social media company is testing an update that would give its users the ability to add friends to their broadcast.

The feature, as pictured above, would display the two co-streaming friends in a split-screen fashion. Viewers would still have the ability to like and comment on the stream.

The Verge, which was among the outlets to report on this planned update, explained that Instagram’s owner adopted a similar tool back in May. In general, 2017 has ushered in an

industry-wide trend related to “co-viewing,” which lets users come together to witness a specific broadcast together. Companies that have rolled out features in that category include YouTube, Tumblr, Vevo, and Fullscreen.

The more specific concept of a “co-streaming” feature can be found across the online video industry. Mixer, a platform that serves as Microsoft’s answer to Twitch, touts co-streaming as one of its most attractive features.

Instagram announced its intention to launch a live video offering in November 2016 and followed through on that promise less than a month later. The social platform is expected to officially roll out its own take on co-streaming at some point over the next couple of months.