The social network's live streaming feature, Live, is now available to all users, not just celebrities and public figures - as it was previously.
In August, the social network added a live streaming feature, called Live, to its Facebook Mentions app, allowing public figures to talk to their audiences in real-time.
The feature was meant to help public figures and celebrities (athletes, musicians, politicians and other influencers) grow and engage with their fan base by showing them behind-the-scenes footage, hosting question-and-answer sessions, or sharing announcements.
Now the feature will be available to all Facebook mobile users. "Live lets you show the people you care about what you're seeing in real time - whether you're visiting a new place, cooking your favourite recipe, or just want to share some thoughts," said Vadim Lavrusik, Facebook product manager in a blog post.
The Live icon is available as an option when updating a status. During broadcast, users will see how many live viewers are watching and a real-time stream of comments will appear - similar to how other live broadcasting apps work. After broadcast, the video will be saved to the user's timeline for later viewing.
The feature will initially be available to US iPhone users, with Android and more regions following soon.
The first live broadcasting app, Meerkat, was launched at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas early this year. This was followed quickly by the launch of Twitter-owned Periscope.
Four months after launch, Periscope announced it had over 10 million accounts on the platform. As of the beginning of August, 40 years' worth of video was being watched each day.
Posted by Facebook on Wednesday, December 2, 2015
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