Instagram users must have a public account and at least 1000 followers to be able to go live, the platform confirmed to TechCrunch. Until now, anyone was allowed to go live, regardless of their follower count or account status. The change is detrimental to creators with fewer than 1000 followers, as well as regular users who were going live for no particular reason.
Users who do not meet the criteria and try to make a live video will see a message telling them that their account can no longer make a live video. “We changed the criteria for this option. Only public accounts with 1000 followers or more can create live videos,” the message continues. Users are expressing their dissatisfaction on social media and demanding that the change be reversed.
Even on TikTok, users must have at least 1000 followers to go live. On YouTube, channels must have a minimum of 50 subscribers. Although the company didn’t give a specific reason, it said the change is intended to improve the overall consumer experience. This could also be Meta’s way of saving money. Since streaming these videos costs money, the company may have decided not to support videos that only have a handful of viewers.