If you don't own an iPhone, you might have felt a little left out when scrolling through your News Feed and seeing some of your family and friends broadcasting videos in real time. Now, this recently added new feature is about to be available for more users.
The company announced today that Facebook Live will soon be available for Android.
The social network first launched its live video feature for public figures on iOS back in August 2015, followed by a roll out to users with verified Pages in December. The feature then launched for all iOS users in January.
Facebook Live is similar to live-streaming apps like Periscope and Meerkat, where users can record a live video that is posted on their News Feed, and can see how many users are currently watching, as well as reading comments in real time. Instead of disappearing when done recording, the live stream lives on as a traditional video. This is ideal, for example, so fans of a celebrity who missed a Q&A when it was first broadcast will still be able to view what was said. Broadcasters also have the choice to delete the video if they wish.
Facebook users can also tap on the subscribe button to be notified when that account's next broadcast goes live so they don't miss out.
Facebook revealed that, on average, users watch a video more than three times longer when it is live. They also found that more than 50 percent of people watching these live videos are doing so on their Android devices.
Now making good on its promise to let Android users broadcast their own videos in real time, Facebook will start to roll out the feature for these users starting next week.
The rollout will first start to Android users in the United States.
Users share a live video by tapping on "What's on your mind?," which is located at the top of their News Feed. Next, select the Live Video icon, and then write a description about what will be discussed and select the audience.
Android users aren't the only ones getting the feature. Facebook also announced on Friday that the feature is "coming soon" to more countries.
Facebook said that currently the live broadcast feature is now available in more than 30 countries for users with iOS, and it will roll out Facebook Live to more Pages and people worldwide in the "coming weeks."
Source: Facebook
