Look at the Stories bar at the top of your feed. Accounts you follow that are live right now appear at the front, with a colored ring and a LIVE label on their profile picture. Tap the picture to join.
Instagram doesn’t have a public list of everyone who is live. To catch the Lives you care about, turn on live notifications for those accounts, and to watch someone you don’t follow, open their profile while they are broadcasting.
Check your Stories bar
- Open Instagram and go to the home feed.
- Look at the row of profile pictures at the top. Anyone you follow who is live appears first, with a LIVE label under the picture.
- Tap the picture to open the broadcast.
If nobody you follow is live, there is no LIVE label in the row. The Stories bar only shows accounts you follow.
Get a notification when someone goes live
For one account: open the profile, tap the bell icon, choose Live videos and select All notifications. You’ll get an alert whenever that account starts a Live.
For everyone you follow: in your settings, open Notifications, then the section for Live and Reels, and make sure live video notifications are on. Instagram doesn’t promise an alert for every Live from every account, so use the per-account bell for the people you don’t want to miss.
Watch a Live from an account you don’t follow
You don’t have to follow a public account to watch its Live:
- Tap the search icon and look up the username.
- Open the profile. While the account is live, its profile picture carries the LIVE label.
- Tap the profile picture to join the broadcast.
Private accounts are different. Their Lives are only available to approved followers.
If you want to browse Lives from people you’ve never heard of, our guide on how to find random Lives on Instagram covers what still works.
Why you can’t see someone’s Live
- The Live already ended. Unless the host shares a replay, it disappears when the broadcast stops.
- The account is private and you don’t follow it.
- The account blocked you. You won’t see its profile, Stories or Lives.
- Your app is out of date. Updating Instagram fixes a lot of display problems with Stories and Lives.
Watching Live replays
When a Live ends, the host can share it as a replay. Shared replays stay on the host’s profile, usually with their Reels, so you can watch them later. If the host doesn’t share it, there is no way to watch it after the broadcast.
Going live yourself
Lives from accounts people follow are the easiest to find, because they sit at the front of the Stories bar. If the Live button doesn’t work for you, see why Instagram won’t let you go live. If you want more people watching from the first minutes, our Instagram Live views service adds viewers to the broadcast you choose.
FAQ
Can I see who is live on Instagram without following them?
Yes, for public accounts. Search the username and open the profile. If they are live, the LIVE label is on their profile picture.
Is there a list of everyone who is live on Instagram right now?
No. Instagram doesn’t have a public directory of live broadcasts. The Stories bar only shows accounts you follow.
Can the host see that I’m watching?
Yes. The host can see who is watching during the broadcast.
Why are there no Lives in my Stories bar?
Most likely nobody you follow is live at that moment. Lives appear there only while they are running.
Can I watch Instagram Lives on a computer?
Yes. Open instagram.com in a browser, log in, and open the live account from your Stories row or its profile.