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As a precursor to providing live streaming for the masses, Facebook is testing the new feature among select users in the US.

Mashable reports that the feature will not be restricted to famous people and celebrities, while noting that only some iPhone users will be able to use it for now. For those it has been made available, a 'Live Video' option appears in the status update. Users can start streaming and broadcasting, following which the video will be posted to the timeline.

"The reasons people wanted it were quite different from celebrities. It was really more about inviting friends and families into special moments in people's lives. People might broadcast from Facebook during a child's birthday party or after reaching the summit of a mountain," Julie Zhou, product design director at Facebook, said according to The Verge.

The Verge also drew comparisons between Facebook and other apps with live streaming. It reported that a broadcast set to public will only send notifications to a list of close friends.

In other updates, Facebook said it was introducing a new way to share images. "We're also introducing a new way to share experiences captured with your phone's camera by grouping photos and videos that were taken together into a scrolling, moving collage," the social media giant said adding the photos are added into a collage depending on when and where they were taken.