Going live on YouTube from your Android is quick and easy, however, there are a few things you should keep in mind before you hit the Go Live button. We have been going live on our YouTube channel every Saturday for the past 2 years, and here are a few tricks and settings we have learned over the years. You can live stream on YouTube from Android and iOS phones using official YouTube mobile apps.
Before You Go Live
- Make sure your channel has at least 1,000 subscribers.
- Check that your channel is verified. If it is not, you can easily do so at youtube.com/verify. Although it might take up to 24 hours to get live stream access after the verification process is completed.
- Check if you have had no live stream restrictions in the last 90 days at youtube.com/features?nv1
How to Live Stream on YouTube From Phone
1. To begin live streaming on YouTube, open the YouTube app on your Android or iPhone and tap on the plus + button.
2. In the pop-up that follows, tap on Go live. If it’s your first time, you’ll have to grant access to the camera, mic, and storage.
3. Next, enter the details of your live stream. You can add a title, description, location and adjust your visibility settings. Below that, you can also set age restrictions for your audience and decide if your video is made for kids or not. If your channel is not specially catering to kids, you should choose No this video is not made for kids.
4. Scroll down and tap on More Options to see Advance settings. Here you will find Allow chat and monetization options. Most creators like to enable chat and monetization but it is optional.
5. Go back and tap on Next at the bottom of the screen.
6. Once you hit next, you’ll see a countdown timer start for you to capture the video’s thumbnail. If you don’t like the
picture, you can upload a custom thumbnail by clicking on the Edit (pencil) icon on the top right corner of the photo. You can also choose whether you want to stream using the back camera or selfie camera by tapping the camera orientation icon in the top right of the screen.
7. Once done with your thumbnail, hit the GO LIVE button at the bottom.
8. To end your stream, tap Finish. An archive of the stream will be created on your channel. If you don’t want it to stay on your channel, you can edit the privacy setting and unlist the video.
Best Practices While Live Streaming on YouTube From Phone
If you are going live for the first time, it’s natural to be a bit nervous. However, in our experience, your audience will understand it. After doing hundreds of YouTube live streams on mobile, we recommend keeping the video as organic as possible, being unscripted, and engaging with the chat stream.
Did you know you can live stream on YouTube with more than two people and that too for free? Let us know if you would like to see part two of this series on best practices for live stream.
