Facebook Live Video Rolling Out Globally; Messenger Tipped to Get Ads

Facebook last month started rolling out its Live Video streaming feature to all iPhone users in the US region. The content sharing feature, which was previously limited to select users and celebrities, has now started rolling out to other countries as well. A separate report adds that Facebook might soon start injecting ads in to its standalone messaging app - Messenger.

As per user reports (via Engadget), users in the UK, Germany, Brazil, and South Africa have started seeing the new Live Video sharing feature in their Facebook apps following an in-app update. Users can check if they have the live streaming tool by tapping on the Update Status bar at the top of the News Feed and looking for the Live Video icon.

For now, only iOS users are able to view the icons. Android users are expected to receive the feature soon. The report adds that Facebook will take a couple of weeks to make the feature available to all iOS users.

Facebook Live Videos work in a similar fashion as Twitter's Periscope. Users can start streaming a live video and the viewers can comment and like the stream. Facebook will also show the number of views on the live streaming video.

In a separate report, Facebook will soon be including paid advertisements in its Facebook Messenger app as per a leaked document obtained by TechCrunch. The social media giant has distributed a document to businesses suggesting that they will soon be able to message customers directly via the Facebook messenger app starting Q2 of this year. However, the businesses will only able to message those customers who have voluntarily initiated the chat.

The document also notes that Facebook has quietly launched a URL short link fb.com/msg/ that opens a chat thread with the business. Facebook too has confirmed the existence of the URL, says the report.

"We don't comment on rumour or speculation. That said, our aim with Messenger is to create a high quality, engaging experience for 800 million people around the world, and that includes ensuring people do not experience unwanted messages of any type."said Facebook to TechCrunch regarding Messenger ads.