Instagram Broadcast Channels start rolling out, Facebook and Messenger to get Channels soon

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced ‘broadcast channels’ on Instagram. Broadcast Channels are Telegram-like channels that allow you to share important information with your followers. Also Read: Meta AI Adds UPI Lite, Hindi Support, and Deepika Padukone’s Voice to Ray-Ban Glasses in India

Meta is currently testing the feature with select creators in the US and will bring it to others soon. Following this, Channels will also reach other Meta-owned apps such as Facebook and Messenger. Also Read: YouTube’s Next Big AI Upgrade: Lip-Syncing For Auto-Dubbed Videos Coming Soon

Instagram Broadcast Channels are nothing but Telegram channels

Meta published a blogpost on Thursday announcing the new Broadcast Channels for Instagram. Broadcast Channels are for creators and accounts that want to share information with their followers. Also Read: Meta Wants Employees To Build The Metaverse 5X Faster Using AI

To demo it, Mark Zukerberg himself created a Channel on Instagram. Instagram Broadcast Channels lets you share information in text, photos, videos, and even in voice notes. Those who have joined the channel can react to the information shared, but they can’t reply or respond.

Furthermore, ‘Broadcast Channel’ creator can also post polls, where people can vote. This will be helpful, for say, singers or bands that want to choose the next city for their concert.

This sounds exactly like Telegram Channels. However, Instagram is a full-fledged social media app, unlike Telegram.

On Instagram, if you follow a creator and he creates his first channel, you will receive a one-time notification that will let you join his/her channel. Then, you can join the channel to get all updates.

If you aren’t interested, you don’t necessarily need to join the channel, but you won’t receive any updates from the creator in the channel and you can’t react to the information shared.

“Once a creator gets access to broadcast channels and sends the first message from their Instagram inbox, their followers will receive a one-time notification to join the channel. Anyone can discover the broadcast channel and view the content, but only followers who join the channel will receive notifications whenever there are updates,” noted Meta’s blogpost.

As said above, the feature will soon reach more users in the coming months. The feature will then arrive on Facebook and Messenger.