Status updates are a popular way to tell friends on Facebook what a user is up to or where he or she is hanging out. It gets better, as users can now also share their music or TV shows they are watching directly from the social network.
Facebook has added a smart algorithm to its network that will recognize the TV show or music users are watching within 15 seconds and it will be rolling out shortly for iOS and Android. It is part of the status update section of the social network and it homes in on the device's microphone to identify the media that is being played. However, users will have to manually enable the features themselves.
"When writing a status update -- if you choose to turn the feature on -- you'll have the option to use your phone's microphone to identify what song is playing or what show or movie is on TV," Facebook says. "That means if you want to share that you're listening to your favorite Beyoncé track or watching the season premiere of 'Game of Thrones,' you can do it quickly and easily, without typing."
Users will be able to turn it on from their mobile phones by going to the "Identify TV and Music Instantly" section and clicking "Turn On." Facebook will only be able to identify these two media and not conversational voices or other background noise. Whether it will work with just static sounds or work through some background noise while the track or show plays, remains to be seen.
When Facebook finds the match, users will be able to choose to share it or not so that in the event it makes a mistake they can cancel or start over. Users will also be able to choose who sees the update like with others. The feature will be represented by an audio icon when enabled and run in the background of the app.
The update will be available for iOS and Android within the coming weeks.
