How To Get Video Chat On Instagram To Keep Up With Your Long-Distance BFFs
One of the reasons I love Instagram so much is that it helps me stay connected to my friends who live hundreds of miles away from me. Of course, doling out a like on your BFFs' brunch photos isn't the same as dining out with them, but it's better than nothing, right? Well, get ready to be so much more connected to your friends on Instagram with the app's new video chat feature. If you're wondering how to get video chat on Instagram, read on to learn more about this awesome feature.
Instagram announced the release of its new video chat feature in a blog post on Tuesday, June 26. It's super simple to start all the IG video chats you want, too. Plus, this feature is available on both iOS and Android, per the release, so everyone can get in on the video chat fun.
Before you you're ready for an IG video chat close-up, you'll need to make sure you have the feature on your app. First, ensure that your Instagram app is updated with the latest version of the app from the App Store or Google Play. Once your app is updated, you can get a video chat started when you tap on the Direct Message icon in the upper righthand corner of your IG screen. Then, choose your video chat buddy, and tap on the video camera icon in the righthand corner to connect. Seriously, it's that easy.
You don't have to worry about an IG friend missing your video chat call on their end, because the video chat will ring right to their phone. If your bestie is really busy, she can still answer and multitask in the app by minimizing the video screen.
Did I mention that you don't even need a phone number to make these calls? All you need is an Instagram account and a camera on your smartphone, and you are set to have all the fun with your long-distance besties. You can even chat with more than one person when using Instagram's video chat feature. In fact, you can video chat with up to four of your Instagram buddies in one chat, so you don't have to wait until your end-of-summer reunion to see your childhood besties.
If you already have a group message in your Direct Messages, the video camera icon in that thread will turn blue whenever there is an active video chat going on with your IG pals. So, you can tap the camera and pop in for a video chat cameo whenever you see that blue camera icon. When you have to peace out, you can simply tap the red phone icon at the bottom of the chat to end the call.
You can video chat on Instagram with anyone you have a Direct Message thread with. If you don't want certain people reaching out for a video chat, you can rest assured that accounts you've blocked cannot video chat you. Furthermore, you can be free of video chat notifications from certain people by muting the accounts you don't want to see.
Now that you know you don't have to deal with unwanted video chat requests, you're probably ready to get in some face time with your fav people on IG. Again, make sure that your app is updated with the latest version of Instagram, and you should be able to get video chatting right away. If you are having trouble getting the feature, you may simply have to exercise some patience, because large rollouts like this one can take some time to reach all users. Frustrating as that may be, it will be totally worth the wait.
Instagram seems to specialize in worth-the-wait features, because the company announced another new feature on Thursday, June 28. This exciting update is for your Instagram Story, and it will seriously up all of your Stories. With Thursday's update, you can now add music to photos and videos on your IG Story, and it is a seriously cool upgrade.
The music for Stories is another wide rollout, so you might have to dig deep for that patience again. I wouldn't stress about it though, because you'll be busy having all the video chats with your long-distance BFF on the 'Gram.
