Discord has become more than just a gaming messaging app, although it is still pretty huge within the gaming community. It has been used as a messaging app but also an app for building communities. Some have even recommended using it for online classes during this pandemic. They have been bringing a lot of new features the past few updates to help long-time and new users make the most out of the app aside from just having encrypted chats. The new feature they’re working on will let users share their screens with their friends on the Android app.
The folks on XDA Developers have been able to see some strings in the Canary release of the Discord desktop client which shows that they are working on a streaming feature that will bring screen sharing to the app. The strings found were a response to several actions performed within the app. Since this feature is already in the beta version on the desktop client, it is assumed that it will also eventually arrive on the mobile app itself. It’s not yet seen on the beta channel so hopefully, this will be added soon.
But based on the strings on the desktop client, how it will work is pretty simple. You can only use it of course if you’re on a video call. When you start screen sharing, whatever is on your phone will be streamed to your friends who are part of the call. You can switch to other apps like a new game you’re playing or the video that you want to watch together, or a PowerPoint presentation, or whatever it is you need to show them. There can be a lot of uses for screen sharing during this time when people are working or studying remotely.
Discord has been improving being just a simple encrypted messaging and video calling app with the new features they’ve been adding. There has been support for QR code logins, the ability to mute conversations, Mobile Voice Overlay, adding slash commands, etc. Just last update, they added noise suppression so background noises can be filtered out during your calls. Adding screen sharing will be great for both personal and even professional calls if your business is cool enough to use this app over other video calling apps.
Since this is not even in the beta channel for mobile apps, don’t expect the screen sharing feature to arrive soon. At least, you can try it out in the desktop client if you’re running Canary.