Following the announcement of the Live Room in March, Instagram is now adding two new features to Instagram Live, users can now mute their microphones and even turn off their videos in the live stream.
According to TechCrunch, this is another attempt by Instagram to increase its competition against Clubhouse. “Instagram says these new features will make it easier for hosts to watch their live stream experience because they reduce the stress of having to watch or sound a certain way during a live broadcast,” he said.
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If this is true, Facebook is taking another page from Clubhouse’s Playbook by launching a “video off” experience that promotes more serious conversations.
So far, the host has not been able to turn the video on or off or mute others in a live stream, but Instagram is working to provide these kinds of capabilities to broadcasters. The first glimpse of this feature appeared on Instagram Live on Thursday between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri.
Instagram is also taking a TikTok with the “Remix” function for Reels that launched last month. A few weeks from now, social networks have started offering three options like counting, rather than deleting them.
On the other hand, the Instagram owner is more serious about competing with Clubhouse and Twitter. This month, the company announced three products focusing on audio, SoundBites, a type of short-form audio product that integrates podcasts and songs into the platform with a Spotify partnership, and a new live audio feature.