Periscope update adds ability to sign up without a Twitter account, new commenting features, more

Twitter this evening has updated its popular live streaming app Periscope to version 1.0.4 with a handful of new features and bug fixes. Announced in post on Medium, the update adds the ability to change your profile a picture, a feature that for some reason has not been there since launch. A variety of other new features are also included…

Periscope has also made it easier to reply to comments while watching a live broadcast. Now, users can simply tap a comment and hit the reply button to be prompted with a response including the other commenter’s @handle. Replies in which you are mentioned will appear with an arrow. Periscope and Twitter have also made improvements to the blocking functionality of the service. With the latest version of the app, a message will now be posted to the chatroom when the streamer blocks a user.

Perhaps most notably, the update also adds the ability to sign up for the service without a Twitter account. While Periscope still recommends that if you are a Twitter user you should use that account, users can now choose to sign-up using just your phone number.

The update is available on the App Store now for free.