Instagram users now need a public account with a minimum of 1,000 followers to go live on the platform, the social network confirmed to TechCrunch. Until now, Instagram has allowed anyone to go live, regardless of their follower count or whether their account is public or private.
The move will be a blow to smaller creators on the platform who fall under the 1,000 followers requirement, as well as regular users who just liked to go live with their friends for fun.
Users who don’t have public accounts and have fewer than 1,000 followers will see a new notice when they try to go live, stating that their account is no longer eligible for Live. The notice continues, “We changed requirements to use this feature. Only public accounts with 1,000 followers or more will be able to create live videos.”
Users have taken to social media to express their displeasure with the change, with some asking for it to be reversed.
The change brings Instagram’s live feature more in line with TikTok’s, as the short-form video app also requires users to have at least 1,000 followers to go live. In comparison, YouTube requires channels to have a minimum of 50 subscribers to go live.
While the company didn’t provide a specific reason for the change, it noted that the move is designed to improve the overall Live consumption experience.
The change could limit lower-quality streams by only allowing users with an established audience to go live.
It could also be a way for Meta to save money. Since hosting livestreams is expensive, Meta may have decided that it doesn’t want to support broadcasts with only a handful of viewers.
