The disappearing video, which vanishes once the footage has been opened and viewed, is a signature feature of Snapchat and will further increase competition between the two brands.
Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, has already tried to squeeze Snapchat’s share of the market by launching Instagram Stories in August, allowing users to publish collections of images and video each day.
The brand is also launching a live video option which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said is a crucial feature for the Facebook “family of apps.”
Instagram boss Kevin Systrom told the Financial Times earlier this month that the next step for the app is to let users broadcast live.
"Live video on Instagram Stories helps you connect with your friends and followers right now.
“When you're done, your live story disappears from the app so you can feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime," the social app said in blog post.
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"It's easy to go live - just swipe right from feed to open the camera, tap the 'Start Live Video' button and start sharing for up to an hour.
“Your friends may get a notification when you go live so they can tune in. While you're live, you can pin a comment for everyone to see or turn comments off altogether."
Instagram also said that disappearing photos and videos, sent using the app's Direct feature, can be sent to one - or groups - of contacts.
A new paper air plane icon is being added to the app as an inbox for this content.
The social media site said an app update for disappearing would start to become available from Monday, and live video will be arriving in the "coming weeks".
