Periscope update makes it easier to see when friends are broadcasting
Periscope, the free iPhone app that lets you stream live video to your Twitter feed, has been updated just days after the software’s launch. Among the improvements to the app are performance tweaks, bug fixes, and the more prominent placement of the people you follow at the top of your feed.
Periscope’s developers noted how impressive the launch of the app has been. In addition to noting some of the more notable broadcasts in a blog post, like tours of Glacier National Park and a ballet class at Paris Opera, they said:
We launched Periscope a week ago and have been overwhelmed (in the best possible way) by the outpouring of excitement for the product. We built Periscope to let people discover the world through someone else’s eyes and in just a matter of days have taken us all around the globe – to nearly every country in the world.
Meerkat might have launched first, but Twitter’s app has overtaken Meerkat in terms of popularity. QZ tech editor Dan Fommer tweeted a graph, below, comparing the number of tweets per day made from the two apps. Meerkat’s share fell sharply as soon as Periscope launched.
Third day. pic.twitter.com/xnBd27zTvC
— Dan Frommer (@fromedome) March 29, 2015
In addition to putting broadcasts from people you follow at the top of your feed, so they’re easier to follow, Periscope has also been improved in terms of notifications. Follower notifications are turned off by default, which should help cut down on the number of times the app alerts you to new broadcasts.
Periscope has also made it easier to keep your location from your followers. You can choose not to share your location before broadcasting, and the map zooms out more to give a less precise indicator of where you are.
Periscope is available for free from the App Store, but watch your data bandwidth while you’re using it. That’s not something an update can fix.