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YouTube mobile livestreaming is now available for everyone, no subscriber requirement [Update]

Livestreaming on the YouTube mobile app can certainly come in handy, as we’ve used it at I/O, but Google has held it back just a bit so only certain users can access it. Now, all requirements for mobile livestreaming are being dropped.

Update: As pointed out by TechCrunch, this isn’t officially available just yet. YouTube is testing it out for a small number of users, but the official requirement is still 1,000 subscribers.

In the past few days, YouTube has quietly dropped its requirements for livestreaming from mobile devices (via Android Police). Previously, users were required to have over 10,000 subscribers, which was later dropped down to just 1,000. Now, all that stands in the way of starting a livestream is having a channel which is verified and not having any livestream restrictions on your account.

Accessing livestreaming is as simple as visiting the upload section of the app. From there, simply tap the livestream option, set a thumbnail and title, and you’re good to go. The feature is still rolling out it seems, but it will likely be fully enabled over the coming days for all users.

While it’s great to see this feature expand, I do worry what it means for YouTube as a platform. We’ve already seen quite a bit of trouble with Facebook’s livestreaming feature, and with anyone having access to YouTube’s version, that may just continue. Hopefully, YouTube’s various filters will help prevent issues to an extent.


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