A broadcast channel is a one-to-many messaging space inside Instagram that lets a creator or professional account post updates directly to everyone who has joined, without those followers being able to start their own threads. According to Instagram for Creators' official channel guide, it works as "a quick, casual way to connect directly with your followers" outside the main feed, Stories, or DMs.
Instagram introduced broadcast channels on February 16, 2023, when Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the feature and created his own channel, according to TechCrunch's coverage of the launch. Early testing included creators such as Chloe Kim, FaZe Rug, and Valkyrae, spanning sports, entertainment, and content creation, per the same report. The feature has since expanded well beyond that initial test group.
What can a creator post in a channel?
A broadcast channel supports text, images, video, and voice messages, and a creator can invite another creator to join a live chat inside the channel, according to Instagram for Creators' broadcast channels page. Built-in interactive tools, including polls and question cards, let a creator collect real-time feedback from the audience rather than posting one-way updates only.
A creator can run more than one channel to reach different segments of their audience or to cover separate topics, the same page notes. Setting one up involves adding a descriptive title, a welcome message, and a stated purpose for the channel, then sharing it through Stories or pinning it to the profile so it is easy for followers to find.
Who can create a broadcast channel?
Broadcast channels are built for creators and professional accounts rather than general personal profiles, and access rolled out gradually after the 2023 launch rather than to every account at once, per TechCrunch's reporting on the rollout. Because eligibility and the exact accounts included have shifted since launch, a creator who does not yet see the option in their account should check back periodically rather than assume it is permanently unavailable.
How do followers join and interact with a channel?
Followers who join a channel "can read, react and reply to messages, and also vote in polls that are sent by creators," according to Instagram's help center article on joining a channel. That is a broader set of actions than followers had when the feature first launched: at introduction in February 2023, TechCrunch reported that followers could react to messages and vote in polls but could not post their own messages into the channel. The gap between those two descriptions reflects how the feature has been built out over time, not a contradiction in how it currently works.
Joining is opt-in. A follower who joins gets a one-time notification and can then leave or mute the channel at any time, per TechCrunch's launch-day report. A creator's messages are visible to anyone who has joined, and the channel itself can be pinned to that creator's profile so new followers can find and join it without a direct invitation.
What can a channel collaborator do?
In May 2023, Instagram added the ability for a channel owner to invite other creators or fans to collaborate inside a channel, a change TechCrunch reported was announced during a public conversation between Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri. Collaborators "can message and moderate, but they can't modify any channel settings," according to Instagram for Creators' guide. That distinction matters for a creator deciding whether to bring in a co-host or a moderator: a collaborator can post and manage conversation in the channel, but the channel's title, description, and other settings stay under the original creator's control.
What moderation and safety tools apply?
Instagram for Creators describes channel content as subject to the platform's community guidelines, with a combination of automated tools and human reviewers used to identify and remove policy-violating material. Because a channel is a public, one-to-many space rather than a private conversation, anything a creator posts there should be treated the same way a public post or Story would be: visible to everyone who has joined, and subject to the same enforcement Instagram applies elsewhere on the platform. As with any Instagram feature, the specific settings and options available can change, so it is worth checking the current version of Instagram's help center before relying on a specific behavior described here.
For a related creators perspective, read How Instagram Subscriptions work for creators.