How to Upload 360 Photo to Facebook

Recently I shot a 360 panorama photo with my DJI Spark.

After stitching using DJI iPhone app and importing to my computer, I uploaded the file to Facebook, but it was not recognized as a 360 photo (a 360 photo will have a round icon on bottom right).

It took me a while to get this right.

How facebook recognize a 360 photo

It is not as simple as the help center says.

It requires Facebook's Head of Immersive Imaging to explain, and it still didn't work for me.

But I figured it out.

1. Must be JPEG format

First, the format must be JPEG. When I export my photo, it is a PNG.

To convert PNG to JPG, I use my handy command:

sips -s format jpeg the-photo.png --out .

2. Add EXIF metadata

Then as the Facebook head explained, they recognize with the Exif XMP tag in the file. It must have a ProjectionType=equirectangular.

To add that metadata, first you need a tool. Install using brew install exiftool on your terminal.

Then add like this:

exiftool -ProjectionType="equirectangular" the-photo.jpg

Now you can upload.

Another tip: After uploading, click on the settings icon on bottom right > Select Starting View.