How to Go Live on Instagram (2026 Step by Step)

To go live on Instagram: open the app, swipe right from your feed or tap the plus icon, select Live at the bottom of the camera screen, add a title, then tap the shutter button to start broadcasting. There is no follower minimum and no approval step. Everything below covers adding a guest, scheduling ahead, saving the replay, and what to do when the Live option is missing.

How to go live on Instagram

1. Open Instagram and swipe right from your feed, or tap the plus icon in the top right.
2. Scroll the mode selector at the bottom of the camera to Live.
3. Tap the title field on the left and write what the stream is about. This shows in the notification your followers get.
4. Optional: tap the audience icon to switch between Public and Practice. Practice mode broadcasts only to close friends so you can test audio and framing first.
5. Tap the shutter button to start. Instagram notifies your followers and pushes you to the top of the Stories tray.
6. Tap End in the top right when you are done, then choose whether to share the replay.

Instagram Live requirements

• Followers: none. The old 10,000 follower rule applied to Story swipe up links, never to Live.
• Account type: personal, Creator, and Business accounts can all go live.
• Account standing: your account must be in good standing. Recent community guideline strikes can remove the option temporarily.
• Length: up to 4 hours per broadcast.
• Age: the account must meet Instagram's minimum age for the region.

How to go live with someone else

Instagram Live supports up to three guests plus you, for four people on screen. Start your own live first, then tap the two-faces icon in the bottom right. You will see a list of viewers who requested to join and a search field for inviting anyone directly. Tap Add next to a name and they get a prompt to accept.

Guests can also request to join by tapping the request icon on their side while watching. You approve or ignore each request. Removing a guest is the same icon, then Remove.

How to schedule an Instagram Live

1. Open the camera and select Live.
2. Tap the calendar icon on the left side of the screen.
3. Name the live, pick the date and start time, then tap Schedule Live Video.
4. Share the reminder to your feed or Stories so people can tap Remind Me.
5. At the scheduled time, open the Live camera again and start the scheduled broadcast from the prompt.

Why the Live option is missing

• App version is old. Update Instagram from the App Store or Play Store and reopen it.
• Camera or microphone permission is off. Check your phone settings for Instagram and enable both.
• Account restriction. A recent violation can pull Live for a period. Check Settings, then Account Status.
• New account. Very new accounts sometimes see Live appear after a few days of normal activity.
• Connection is too weak. Instagram hides or fails Live on unstable connections. Switch to Wi-Fi and retry.

What happens to the video after you end the live

When you tap End, Instagram offers to share the replay to your profile, where it sits under the Reels or video tab depending on length. You can also download the file to your camera roll from the same screen. If you skip both, the broadcast is gone. There is no recovery.

Capture the people who show up

A live is a room full of people who are paying attention to you right now, and almost all of that attention disappears the second you tap End. The fix is to give them one keyword during the stream. Say it out loud, pin it as a comment, and let the automation handle the rest.

Comment-to-DM automation sends everyone who comments that keyword a direct message within seconds, with your link, your offer, or an email capture step. You leave the live with a list instead of a view count. Comment to DM automation covers how the trigger works, and the free plan runs it without a contact cap.