Facebook brings out 360-degree feature for photos

10 Jun 2016

You can now turn your panoramic photos into 360º Facebook snaps after the company rolled out its latest tool for a consumer base thirsty for innovation.

360º images are pretty cool, however, unless you have a tailored app, they’re often beyond many users. However, Facebook has rolled out a new tool called 360 Photos that makes them easier to create.

Releasing it alongside Paul McCartney on his latest world tour, users simply take a panorama photo and post it as usual.

Once posted, you’ll see a little compass in the bottom right-hand corner, which you can use to look around in the image by moving your phone or dragging with your finger.

“This medium enables new opportunities for creativity, and we’re excited to see what kinds of 360º photos get shared on Facebook,” said Andy Huang, Facebook’s product manager.

“360º photos give you the ability to take the stage in front of 100,000 fans with Paul McCartney, get behind-the-scenes access to the Supreme Court via The New York Times, visit the International Space Station with NASA, and more.”

The tool is available from today if you have the most up-to-date Facebook app on your phone and, over the next few days, the sharing options will be rolled out.

Last September, the company released its first batch of 360o videos, showing off Star Wars, Saturday Night Live and GoPro.

For a first run, they looked remarkable, with GoPro (naturally) the pick of the bunch.

Main panoramic photo via Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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