Instagram adds face filters to live video broadcasts

San Francisco: Popular photo-sharing platform Instagram has introduced face filters for live video broadcasts through the app.

To use the feature, the user has to tap the face icon in the bottom right corner before or during a live broadcast. Then, they can tap any filter to try a new look, and play around with different filters, the company wrote in a blog post late on Thursday.

All existing face filters are now available for live video feature on the app.

The "sunglasses" face filter is available exclusively in live video feature for the next week, it can be tapped to change the scenery reflected in the lenses.

After the live broadcast ends, the user has the option to share a replay to stories, or choose "discard" option and the live video would disappear from the app.

The Facebook-owned company would roll out face filters in live video globally in the "next several weeks".

Even as Instagram is breaking all records in terms of user growth, Snapchat still has a bigger share of new users in the US but the advantage may not remain for long, a report said earlier this week.

Snapchat represented 38.5 per cent of new signups globally compared with Instagram`s 61.5 per cent in August.

Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 and the photo-sharing platform has seen its usership grow to 700 million monthly active users (MAU) globally.