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Reddit is adding new real-time features, including a live upvote count

Reddit is adding new real-time features, including a live upvote count

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You’ll see typing indicators, too

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Reddit is introducing some big changes on Wednesday by adding new real-time features. Perhaps the biggest update is that the number of upvotes, downvotes, and comments will go up or down as they happen. That could give you a more accurate idea of the popularity of a post as you’re reading it, but I could also see people hitting an upvote or downvote in response to seeing others do the same.

Another change is that Reddit will show the number of people reading a post when there are five or more people looking at it. Reddit won’t just show who’s reading, though; it’s also introducing a typing indicator that will pop up when two or more users are typing a comment. And when new top-level comments come in, Reddit will show a new pill-shaped notification. When you tap that notification, the comments on a post will be sorted by new so you can view what’s been added most recently.

You can get an idea of how the new features work in this GIF:

The new features are rolling out globally across desktop and mobile starting Wednesday, but they’ll only be available on the newer Reddit design. If you use old Reddit, you won’t have access to them.