Instagram may be experimenting with live video in Stories

Instagram might be getting ready to add live video to its app.

Screenshots published by a Russian publication Friday appear to show a new live video feature within Instagram. 

In the images, discovered by a Russian Instagram user and published by T Journal, the first icon in the Stories section of the app has a badge that says "live" on it. Additional screenshots show the Stories interface with a new "Go Insta" button that appears to be used for starting a live broadcast. 

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A spokesperson for Instagram declined to comment on the images but they look to be the real deal as T Journal also posted a video of the feature. 

It's not clear exactly how this would work but a translated version of T Journal's site says tapping the "live" icon brought the user to a separate section called "popular live broadcasts," which they were unable to access. 

Image: T Journal

While it's difficult to say for sure if this is a random experiment or a quiet test of an upcoming feature (Facebook and Instagram both are known to test significant new features in countries outside of the U.S.), the company's reluctance to comment on screenshots would seem to suggest a bigger plan is in the works.

If Instagram does plan to invest in live video for its app then it's not surprising it would choose stories as the place to implement it. The app has been steadily updating Stories since its launch and, earlier in the week, announced that it was adding Stories to its Explore section in an effort to push more people to the feature.