New Twitter alert feature means you’ll never miss a live-stream again

By Trevor Mogg September 13, 2016

Twitter is continuing with efforts to push Periscope and give live-streaming ever greater prominence on its own platform with a new option to subscribe to live video alerts.

Announcing the feature in a tweet on Monday, the microblogging site urged its 313 million users to set it up to keep track of when a followed friend or celeb hits the live-stream button. Alerts from Twitter’s live-stream partners – the NFL, Bloomberg, and news and entertainment company Cheddar among them – will also show up if you follow such accounts.

The new feature can be switched on in a snap. Simply go to the page of someone you follow and tap the new notification button located beside the follow button, as shown in the video below.

Then, on the “account notifications” card that pops up, tap on “only tweets with live video,” and you’re all set.

After that, any time that person starts a live-stream, and you have the app open, a red notification bar will appear at the bottom of the display telling you who’s broadcasting. If the app is closed, you’ll receive a push notification to your mobile device in the usual way. Tap on it and you’ll be taken immediately to the stream.

Don’t miss a live moment! Turn on notifications to join in when someone you follow shares live video on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/dddk81GuCH

— Twitter (@twitter) September 12, 2016

Twitter’s ongoing efforts to increase the presence of live video on its platform, and ultimately boost engagement, mirror similar moves by competing social media services, Facebook among them. The strategy is part of Twitter’s wide-ranging plan to bolster its stagnant user base and improve its overall performance, with other recently rolled out features including promoted stickers, improved monetization options for creators, and a new night mode for more comfortable reading in low-light conditions.

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