What happened to Instagram video call? Find out if all users can access it

On Tuesday, September 29, Instagram rolled out an update that included a video chat feature. While this update increased the social networking app's capabilities, not every Instagram user has the update just yet. Hence, many people are left wondering why they did not get the video call feature. But there is no need to fret as there is a good reason behind this inconsistency in the update rollout by Instagram. Moreover, in no time all Instagram users will be video chatting with up to four of their friends at a time. Read on to find out, “What happened to Instagram video call?”

Read | Alia Bhatt enables comments on Instagram as she is 'tip-toeing, but taking the step'

What is the Instagram video call feature?

A report on Bustle.com has revealed that users who got access to the video chat feature, have claimed that it allows users to make video calls to friends and followers with whom they have permitted messaging. The feature is the direct message inbox and is accessible within new and existing message threads. It is operated in the same way that a user can send a friend a picture within a text thread.

Read | Allu Arjun's Instagram updates to Anushka's picture; check top south cinema social posts

Similarly, they can now send their friends, a video chat request. The best part of this feature is the fact that even while the user is in an ongoing video call going on they can minimize it and continue browsing through their feed. The call doesn't take over the entire screen, it allows you to multitask. Clearly, Instagram knows that we do a lot more than just talk when we're on the phone.

Read | Lauren Gottlieb dances alongside Nargis Fakhri in her latest Instagram video; Watch

What happened to Instagram video call?

The deal with the video call feature is that it is not available to all Instagram users at the moment. Only a few users have reportedly been able to use it. If you don’t see the video call feature in your app, here are a few reasons as to why that might be the case. 

Read | Britney Spears' Instagram picture leaves fans wondering if 'T is for Trapped', see here

• Automatic updates option not signed up: If a user has not signed up for the automatic updates option. They will need to head to the App Store to manually update the app. In any case, it’s best to make sure that you are using the latest version or at least version 51.0, or higher.
• Try Signing out and signing in again: Sometimes one only needs to restart Instagram again to fix a bug in the app.
• Instagram is only trying out the feature: In spite of all these shenanigans, if a user is still not able to get the video call feature, it might just be that the feature has not been publicly released. The company tends to roll out its features slowly. Hence, giving only a few users an opportunity to interact with it and submit bugs so that they can fix the bugs and release the feature for everyone.