Instagram’s new co-watching feature lets you browse posts with friends – here’s how to use it

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Instagram has a new feature that lets you be social while still social distancing. Co-Watching lets you pull people into a group video chat, then spill tea over whatever posts you’ve been browsing through your own feeds. Think of it as a work water-cooler chat, without the water-cooler.

Now, you don’t have to go out to talk about the latest trends, as you can use Instagram Direct to video chat and share interesting posts from your timelines. The only question I have is why Instagram didn’t do this sooner?

The feature is now rolling out to users everywhere.

Here’s how to use it:

• Open your Instagram app
• Tap on the Paper Plane icon on the top right to get into Instagram Direct
• Tap the video camera icon to start a video chat
• Once the chat starts, tap on the photo icon on the bottom to see all recently liked, saved, and Instagram recommendations from your feed
• Whichever post you select will appear for everyone in the chat
• You can also share private posts, but only if everyone in the chat could see it normally

Enjoy the experience of scrolling your endless feeds, now with friends. This is going to be a huge feature for Instagram, not just now but going forward as well.

What do you think? Plan on using this new feature on the social network? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.