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This weird app lets you livestream what you’re doing on your phone

By Karen Tumbokon Updated June 4, 2015

Streaming Unicorns

When it comes to livestreaming apps, there are plenty of them for iOS and Android users — from Meerkat and Periscope, to Ustream — but what if you want to show the world what’s on your homescreen?

For that, there’s a new app called Unicorns, which lets users stream whatever they’re doing on their phone in the moment, whether it’s playing a game, texting, or swiping through Tinder.

To get started, you will need to download and install the Unicorns Mac app. Then, connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac and start using the Unicorns app. Once your device is connected, click on stream. You will be given a URL that you can choose to share publicly or privately. Viewers visiting the URL can then watch live and discuss what’s happening on your screen with text and fun emojis.

Although it may sound creepy or weird to broadcast what you’re doing on your phone, many people are finding practical uses for the app. Unicorns is currently being used for live game streaming, app previews, usability tests, feedback and bug reporting, and much more.

Neil Kinnish, Code + Product at Lookback, told Wired.com, “We’re seeing a lot of users gaming, of course, and we’re super excited about this, but also seeing many users coming on to showcase pre-release apps or upcoming features and chat with the user’s live … it has so many possibilities.”

Released out of beta Wednesday, the Unicorns app was created by Lookback, a startup co-founded by Nevyn Bengtsson. As a lead developer for Spotify, Bengtsson wanted to find a simple way to record and broadcast from an iPhone or iPad screen.

While there are several apps that enable this function, such as Screen Streaming Mirror for Android, Unicorns is simple to use and sports an elegant interface.

At this time, Unicorn is currently only available for Mac and iOS. Lookback has not mentioned whether or not it will be releasing an Android app in the future.

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Karen is a technology, music and entertainment writer. Originally from New Jersey, Karen began her writing career in music…

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