It's looking to double-down on more intimate group chats in the app, with the addition of Close Friends on Instagram Live that will enable users to live stream with up to three other people in a private video session.
That is to say, it's private in that it'll only be viewable by those on your Close Friends list.
Now, you will be able to broadcast to your Close Friends only and also to invite others on your Close Friends list to co-host or to join the stream, which will also bring your audience to their Close Friends as well, but essentially, it's a live video option for smaller groups that might help facilitate more connection within the app.

Live video has become a central meeting ground for younger users, best evidenced by the appeal of D.M. video chats, TikTok Live, and even Omegle before it shut down late last year. Houseparty was another live chat app where the climbing capability of online video connectivity permitted teens to maintain connection and community while at home as well.

Close Friends on live aims to tap into the same, providing another way for Instagram users to connect in the app, and maintain community, within more close knit groups.

Like the larger trend of social media, there's been a rapid swing toward more private sharing in-app - largely through D.M.s. Of course, Instagram's also seen a lot of interest in its inbox Notes feature, which allows users to leave prompts to their connections to respond to at the top of their inbox.

Notes, for one, has been very popular, the younger user base - whom Instagram remains intensely interested in keeping active in the app, hence why it continues to add new features for Notes, to further fuel that dynamic.

Close Friends on Live is another feature on that same trajectory, giving users, mostly the younger ones, even more ways to interact and connect with each other inside the app.