Twitter’s newest streaming app Periscope released on iOS a while ago, but its finally come to Android with some cool new features that set it apart.
Essentially a live-streaming application, Periscope allows users to send streams under differing amounts of privacy constraints. For example, you can broadcast a video to a single person, your entire family, or even the entire world. The viewer sends ‘hearts’ as a sign of appreciation to the video, which the person sending the stream can see at their side.
Yes, we know what you’re thinking. This application has all the potential for some illegal and/or adult themes. In fact, its already been recently embroiled in a privacy battle because users decided to privately stream leaked Game of Thrones episodes and the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. Still, that hasn’t stopped the application from being a reasonable success with the public, primarily for its Twitter integration.
The Android version brings forth a few notable improvements over the iOS version such as deeper notification controls and a new “return to broadcast” feature that helps viewers return to a stream after answering a call or text. The deeper notification features include an opt in/out of alerts for followed users who are broadcasting, or when they share another broadcast. However, these features are global meaning if you disable notifications when users go live, you also won’t be alerted when users start broadcasting. The return to broadcast function is also not exactly elegant but it works exactly as you’d expect and gets the job done. It’s simply a notification on the home screen which returns you to the stream if you need to exit for any reason.
For more on Android, visit What Mobile’s dedicated Android page.