Status updates on Facebook are the easiest way to tell your circle of friends and family what you’re up to. That feature has evolved greatly since it was first introduced. Status updates can now include “Feelings,” which essentially tell your circle about an activity you’re doing or simply what you’re feeling and with whom. The social network today announced an extension of this feature. Leaning on Shazam-like technology, Facebook’s iOS app will be able to determine what you’re listening to or watching by tapping into the device’s microphone.
The feature is opt-in and if users don’t want to enable it there won’t be any effect on their existing experience. When it is turned on though the audio recognition feature will identify TV shows or songs from 160 different stations. It is even capable of recognizing live TV, including sporting events.
When it recognizes what you’re listening to or watching the content will appear in the post, you will have the ability to remove it. If the update contains a song that has been recognized by this feature, your friends will be able to listen to a 30-second preview on Facebook itself.
When the feature is turned on the app will automatically start listening through the microphone when you go to compose a status update. The company says it has been working on this feature for over a year and has been in testing for the past few months. Beginning today it is being launched to U.S. users, no idea when a global expansion will take place.