Facebook has started testing a new feature that will let users set short looping video clips of up to seven seconds as profile picture. The feature is called Profile Videos. In addition, Facebook has also been testing a temporary profile photos feature. These photos will be visible to others till a specified time and after that it will change back to previously set profile photo. The company is testing features with a small number of iPhone users from United Kingdom and California and will roll out to other features soon.
According to Facebook, the new profile photo features will give users a new and better way to express themselves and the goings on in their lives. The social networking giant has been experimenting with users' profile pgotos, allowing a rainbow filter for showing their support for LGBT rights and tri-color filter for Digital India.
Further, Facebook is reportedly also working on a new profile layout for mobiles as well as on improved profile controls. Currently, the profile photo of users is displayed on the left-hand side of the mobile like the webview, but Facebook is working on changing it to the center. Apart from centralising the profile photo, the photos and mutual friends will also be visible to others right at the top. The users will also be able to set a line as their bio in the Bio-field, just like Twitter. As for the profile controls, the company is introducing a separate customisable space which will make easier for users to choose what information they want to make public. The users will also have the option to set any five photos as their ‘Featured Photos’. These photos will be visible right at the top for other users to see.
Last week, Facebook announced the support for 360-degree videos on News Feeds. The move was aimed to provide an immersive experience to the users while watching the video. It said that the feature is rolled out for Android and web users first and will make its way to iOS in near future.