By Vadim Lavrusik, Product Manager and Thai Tran, Product Manager
Now you can bring the photos and videos you share on Facebook to life with live video and collages, to help friends and family feel like they’re in the moment with you.
Live Video: Show your friends what you’re seeing in real time
Today we’re beginning to test the ability for people to share live video on Facebook, starting with a small percentage of people in the US on iPhones. 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 favorite recipe, or just want to share some thoughts. No matter where you are, Live lets you bring your friends and family right next to you to experience what’s happening together.
To share live video, tap on Update Status and then select the Live Video icon. You can write a quick description and choose the audience that you want to share with before going live. During your broadcast, you’ll see the number of live viewers, the names of friends who are tuning in, and a real-time stream of comments. When you end your broadcast, it will be saved on your Timeline like any other video, which you can then delete or keep for your friends to watch later.
You can discover live videos from your friends and public figures you follow right in News Feed. While watching a live video, you can tap the Subscribe button to get notified the next time the broadcaster goes live.
Collage: Use photos and videos to share the whole story
We’re also introducing a new way to share experiences captured with your phone’s camera by grouping photos and videos that were taken together into a scrolling, moving collage. Whether you’re on a weekend trip, at a concert or just hanging out with friends, collages are a great way to share with friends and family who aren’t there with you.
When you tap on Photo, you’ll see recent moments from your camera roll organized into collages based on when and where you took them. You can edit your collage by adding, removing or re-arranging the photos and videos that you want to include. When you’re done, you can add a title to the collage before sharing. Collages will begin rolling out on iPhone today and will be available on Android early next year.
Testing a tool built for mobile sharing
As we were building Live we needed to reconsider the process of sharing from mobile devices. We are currently piloting a new design with a few people on iPhone and Android where they can now tap What’s on your mind? at the top of News Feed to see a drop down menu of all the different options they can share. This will allow us to include new sharing features in the future.
Learn more about live video and collage in our Help Center.