Facebook-owned Instagram has announced it is currently testing a video chat feature, which it plans to roll out to users worldwide “in the coming weeks.”
The news was confirmed during Facebook’s annual developer event, F8, by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who discussed a host of new updates coming to the photo sharing app.
According to Instagram, more than 100 million “Instagrammers” watch or share video on the Live feature every day.
“But we’ve heard from our community that sometimes they also want to experience real-time video in a smaller group,” said Instagram’s official blog. “In the coming weeks, we’ll bring video chat to Instagram and give friends a new way to spend time together — even when they aren’t actually together.”
To start a video chat, users need to simply tap the new camera icon at the top of a Direct thread, the company said. “You can chat one-on-one or with a small group — and you can keep the conversation going for as long as you like. You can also minimise the video and continue the chat while doing other things on Instagram,” the blog added.
The new feature could rival the likes of Apple’s FaceTime and WhatsApp’s video calling service, but with the ban on VoIP services in the UAE, it is still unclear as to whether this new feature will be available to users in the emirates.
However, the UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) has reportedly been in talks with Microsoft and Apple to discuss the possibility of lifting the ban on Skype and FaceTime.
Currently, only paid-for services under the UAE’s telcos – namely BOTIM and C’Me, are available to residents.
