Periscope For iOS Adds Sketching To Live Broadcasts

Periscope pushed out an update for its iOS app yesterday, bringing it up to version 1.3.8. The update brings several changes, but the big one is "a new way to express yourself," says Periscope (if you're on iOS, that is). The feature is called Sketch, and it lets you sketch on the screen while broadcasting. Three primary colors are available with the feature, but there's also a color dropper to select a different shade from the live video as it is broadcasting.

Using the feature is about as simple as can be — just long press on the screen while broadcasting and then choose 'Sketch' when given the option. Choose a color and then start drawing. The feature could be as useful as it is fun, enabling educators, as one example, to scribble something out on the screen as an example while teaching, or to let someone circle an item to draw attention to it.

In addition to the new sketching feature, the updated app also has improved statistics related to the broadcasts, including adding new viewer and watch timer statistics to every broadcast. There are graphs for easily seeing one's viewer numbers over a span of time, aiding creators in developing content that viewers want to watch.

The app update also brings some more minor changes and bug fixes — users are able to edit their username using the iOS app, doing so by choosing "Edit" within one's profile. The issue where the sun overlay may be flipped has been fixed, and there's now a clear and easy-to-understand error when Periscope can't access Twitter. Finally, Settings now has an option for disabling video stabilization.