Facebook Introduces Live Audio

Facebook is getting a feature that allows users or pages to broadcast live with just sound. On Android it is possible to listen to audio streams when the app is not in the foreground or when the device is locked.

Over the coming weeks, Facebook will be testing the Live Audio feature with several partners, including BBC, Harper Collins and writers Adam Grant and Brit Bennett. The feature should be available to more publishers and people early next year.

According to Facebook, some pages are already using the audio-only live streaming feature by showing a picture instead of a moving image. With the Live Audio function, that detour is no longer necessary and it should also offer a solution for people who broadcast from areas where the internet connection is too poor to also stream video.

Similar to live videos, Facebook users can comment on the audio streams or share them with others. Android users can listen to audio while their phone is locked or with another app open. On iOS, users must have the app open to listen to audio.

Facebook supports multiple ways to broadcast live images or sound. In addition to regular live streams with images and sound, the social network started supporting live 360-degree videos last week.