Instagram will let you livestream for up to 4 hours and archive for a month

Instagram is taking several steps to make life for creators on the platform easier during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the company announced it has extended the time limit for livestreams from 60 minutes to four hours. The change is global and applies to all Instagram users.

The reason behind the move, Instagram says, is helping creators — yoga instructors, musicians, artists, cooks, and the like — to do longer sessions with their audience without being interrupted every hour.

There are some caveats, though. This will only be available to accounts "in good standing," with no history of IP or policy violations, Instagram says.

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Instagram is also adding the option to archive your live broadcasts for as long as 30 days.

"Now your live videos will be kept in your archive. Only you can see them. After your live videos end, they will be available in your archive for 30 days. You can download your live videos to your device or upload them to IGTV from your archive," says a notice that will be shown to users on launch.

Instagram says this new feature will launch "soon."

Credit: instagram

Finally, the company says it will be updating the "Live Now" section on IGTV and at the end of a livestream, with the idea of providing people with more content that may interest them, both from the creators they follow, and those they don't.