Create an Instagram Live Video

To stream on Instagram through StreamYard, you need a Professional Account on Instagram.
To update your account to Professional check our dedicated article: How to Change to a Professional Account on Instagram.

 ⏱️ Instagram has placed a 1-hour limit on Live Streams. 
If you try streaming for more than 1 hour an error will appear and the broadcast will end automatically.

👉🏻 How to stream to Instagram

To create a Live Video on Instagram through StreamYard, please follow these steps:

1. 1. Open Instagram.com on your computer. It's not possible to set up the stream from the Instagram app on your mobile device. 
   2. Click Create on the left menu, then click Live Video. If you do not see these options, you may need to switch your account to a Professional Account.
      
   3. Add your Title and choose your Audience. A Practice stream will only be seen by you, and a Public stream will be seen by all your followers. Then click Next.
      
      
   4. Copy your Stream Key. Then go to StreamYard, click Add a Destination, then Instagram Live.
      
      
   5. Enter your Instagram username, then click Add Instagram Live.
      
      
   6. Click Home > Create > Live Stream. Here, you can select the Instagram destination you added and title your stream.
      
      
   7. At the bottom under Instagram Stream key, paste the stream key you copied earlier. Then click Create live stream. 
      
   8. Your studio will automatically be switched to Portrait mode if you are streaming to Instagram destinations only. Click Continue in portrait.
      Alternatively, you can go to the studio settings to switch it to landscape mode if needed.
      
      
   9. On StreamYard, click "Go Live" inside the studio first.
      Your video will appear in the "Preview" section on Instagram to the left of the RTMP details. Check to make sure your video and audio are coming in ok.
      
      
      
   10. Then click Go Live on Instagram to begin streaming. Your followers will automatically get notifications that you are live.
       When going live on both pages, Instagram will automatically mute your stream on their end to prevent any echo and you can toggle the sound on and off as needed.
       
       📌  You must click "Go live" on both StreamYard and Instagram for the stream to start correctly.
       📌  Don't close the Instagram page while you are live.
       If you do, the Live stream will end immediately on Instagram's end. When you visit Instagram again, you will need to connect it to StreamYard again, using a new stream key. 
       
       
   11. Once your livestream is finished, click End Live Video on Instagram, and End Broadcast in StreamYard. 
       If you end your stream on StreamYard's end but forget to also end it on Instagram, it will automatically end by itself after 4 minutes. 
       

For more information and recommendations on how to optimize the quality of your broadcast, please check the Instagram Live Producer page. 

👉🏻 Streaming Layouts on Instagram

If you're streaming only to Instagram and not multiple destinations, the layout in the studio will automatically be switched to Portrait mode, a vertical 9:16 layout.

If you wish to change to Landscape mode, click on Settings > General > Orientation.
Once you activate the Landscape mode, blurred padding will be added to the top and bottom of the video feed to make it fit vertically. Here's an example 👇🏻

👉🏻 Recordings & Reels

🔹 Saving Live Stream on Instagram

Instagram Live streams will not be visible on your Instagram profile once the stream has ended. 

Your Instagram live streams will be saved to your "Live Archive" only if you have enabled the setting Save Live to Archive before the stream starts.  You can only enable this setting using the Instagram mobile app:

1. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
2. Tap the ☰ Menu (three lines) in the top-right corner.
3. Below Your app and media, tap Archiving and downloading.
4. Tap to enable Save live to archive.

🔹 Creating an Instagram Reel from your Live Stream

You can post clips of your streams to Instagram Reels by using our Shorts/Reels feature to trim and post snippets of your streams directly to Instagram Reels.
For more details, check our dedicated article: How to Create and Publish Shorts and Reels. 

FAQs

🔍  Why is my stream not appearing on Instagram?
If you have trouble streaming to Instagram, it may be possible you are using an old or incorrect stream key. Double-check your stream key for typos, or try refreshing Instagram and setting up the stream again to generate a new stream key.
📌  For more details check our article: My Live Stream is not starting on Instagram.

🔍  Can I add Instagram as a destination to my already scheduled live streams on StreamYard?
You can always add Instagram as an additional destination to a stream that you had previously scheduled on StreamYard. 
However, if you close the Instagram page after setting up your stream, the Instagram Stream Key will refresh. This means when you return to stream later, it will not be connected to Instagram anymore. If this occurs, please follow these steps:

1. 1. Set up a new Live Stream on Instagram and copy the new Stream Key.
   2. On StreamYard, click on the three dots to the right of your scheduled event and click Edit to update the stream key with the new string.

Alternatively, you could wait until before you're about to begin to stream to add Instagram as a destination.