Your DJI drone can now start streaming live videos to Facebook

F8 conference
Mark Zuckerberg, with drone.

Facebook is obviously very keen on this live streaming thing: it's just added options that let you fast forward to the best bits of clips and keep your live stream broadcast running for as long as you like. Now, the service is coming to drones too.

We were promised this back at the F8 developer conference in April, but now the software update is rolling out across the world - it enables the DJI Go app to live stream footage from a compatible Phantom or Inspire drone.

If you use the app on iOS, go and get the latest download now; if you're an Android user, you're going to have to wait a little while longer apparently, but the same update should be arriving in the near future.

Going live

Facebook is by no means the first platform to launch a live streaming service but it's pushing the format hard. Of course the benefit of a live stream is that you see the action as it unfolds - like a live sports game rather than one that's been recorded and that you already know the result for.

DJI isn't showing any particular live stream bias - the Go app also supports the Twitter-owned Periscope format too, so you've got a choice of options when it comes to getting your compelling drone footage out there.

Just make sure you know what you're doing with your drone, because a collision with a passenger jet isn't going to look good no matter what live streaming app you've decided to use. Fortunately, we've got a comprehensive guide you can check.

A look at the Parrot Disco drone from CES 2016:

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.