You can now share 360-degree photos on Facebook

Facebook now supports 360-degree photos, its latest effort to get more people comfortable with watching and creating content typically found in virtual reality.

That means you'll soon see 360-degree photos in your News Feed, and can easily upload your own by posting a panorama photo that you took on your smartphone. Facebook will then format that photo so it offers a 360-degree view as you turn and tilt your phone, or click and drag if you're using a desktop.

Facebook has supported 360-degree videos since last fall, which is cool, but difficult for the average person to create without special (and sometimes expensive) video equipment. The 360-degree photos offer a lower bar to actually posting something.

Facebook's interest in 360-degree content seems directly tied to its interest in virtual reality. These 360-degree videos and photos look best when you're wearing a headset, and Facebook encourages people to view them in VR. One of the barriers to selling VR headsets is convincing people they'll have enough things to watch or look at. Getting its user base to create 360-degree photos and videos might one day make VR more appealing.

Or maybe it's just a fun gimmick to get you posting more in News Feed.

Facebook

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via