App for journalists: Sphere, for taking 360-degree photographs
Capture spherical images for social media with this free app
Capture spherical images for social media with this free app
This article was migrated from an old version of our website in 2025. As a result, it might have some low-quality images or non-functioning links - if there's any issues you'd like to see fixed, get in touch with us at info@journalism.co.uk.
What is it? An app for producing 360-degree photographs on your mobile device.
Price: Free
Devices: iOS and Android
How is it of use to journalists? Sphere allows reporters to take a 360-degree snapshot of their surroundings – useful for journalists out in the field who want to share their environment with an audience on social media, or colleagues back in the newsroom.
How does it work? After logging in with your email or Facebook details, browse through the wide variety of uploads by other users or create a new 'Sphere' by hitting the record button.
Tweet content
— User View on Twitter
The app gives you an opportunity to capture footage in either 'Easy' or 'Pro' mode, with different recording options.
In Easy mode, users record their surroundings in brushstrokes, simply moving their device around as if they were painting the scene with their phone.
In Pro mode, users align their device with a series of on-screen dots, in which the app captures snapshots of the area and then stitches them together.
Once you've finished recording, the app takes approximately 30 seconds to processes the 360-degree photo, and is then available to share to your Facebook or Twitter account, or send on via email.
We also recommend checking out [Bubbli](https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/how-to-create-and-share-360-degree-images-with-bubbli/s2/a598565/) and [Splash](https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/app-for-journalists-splash-for-creating-360-degree-videos/s2/a621860/) for capturing and sharing spherical footage using your mobile phone.