Tumblr unveils live video features

Tumblr has rolled out live video functionality, allowing users to broadcast themselves directly into their followers’ dashboards.

Users can post live videos now via iOS or Android devices using the third party, live video enabled services YouNow, Kanvas, Upclose and YouTube.

In each of these apps users can now turn on a Tumblr-sharing feature in their settings – though support on YouTube is currently only available through Android, with iOS to follow in “a few days”.

Live videos can be reblogged by Tumblr users like any other post on the Yahoo-owned service. Tumblr will also notify users when anyone they follow ‘goes live’ with those videos automatically pinned to the top of their dashboard.

The launch, which came to light after preview notices started to appear on the livevideo.tumblr.com domain, appears to be a direct response to live video moves by rivals in the social space – most notably Facebook Live and Twitter’s Periscope.