Facebook Live video is coming to Android
Following a limited December launch on iOS, and a wider rollout in February, the Facebook Live video feature is now coming to Android, the company announced Friday.
U.S. Android users will be the first to see the new feature — next week, to be precise — with more countries coming soon.
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Facebook Live enables users to stream live video directly from their phone. It was originally launched in August 2015 for a small number of verified accounts and celebrities in the U.S., but Facebook has been gradually expanding it ever since.
The feature is similar to video streaming apps Meerkat and Periscope, with viewers able to jump right in with their comments; to see a recent live video taken by Mashable, check our hands-on of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
According to a blog post by Facebook, Live is highly engaging; an average user watches a live video more than three times longer than a non-live one. Also, more than 50% of people tuning in are doing so on their Android devices, so enabling the feature for Android is a logical next step for the company. Users in 30 countries have access so far, with more to come in the "coming weeks."
If you have the feature enabled, you can start a Live video by tapping “What’s on your mind?” at the top of your News Feed and selecting the Live Video icon. Once your broadcast is done, the video will be saved on your Facebook Timeline.
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Topics Facebook Social Media
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
