To watch Google Spotlight Stories, the app on your mobile device for iOS or Android. Google Spotlight Stories require a fast connection, such as WiFi or LTE to download or stream the content.
What are Google Spotlight Stories?
Google Spotlight Stories is a new form of storytelling made specifically for mobile and VR. In these 360-degree, interactive stories, your phone becomes a window to a world all around you. The sensors on your phone allow the story to be interactive; when you move your phone to various scenes, you are able to unlock mini-stories within the story.
You can watch in two ways:
- Move your phone around while watching: This lets you move the camera in the virtual world of the story.
- Use Cardboard viewer: Touch the screen and then select the icon in the bottom right.
Supported devices
To have the best experience with our stories on iOS, you need to have:
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An iPhone 5s or higher, or iPad Air and higher for iOS tablets.
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Internet connectivity for either downloading or streaming the shows
Frequently asked questions
Google Spotlight Stories App
How do I view a story in Cardboard mode?
To view a story in stereoscopic 3D using your Cardboard-compatible viewer, simply play a story then tap on the cardboard icon at the bottom-right of the screen. To return to monoscopic mode, tap once more on the cardboard icon.
If you don’t see a cardboard icon, tap once anywhere on the screen and the pause and cardboard icons will become visible.
How do I download the stories to watch them offline?
Most stories on the app can be streamed online, so to download them on your device, press the 'Download' button, right below the story description.
I get the message “Your current settings require a WiFi connection to download stories.”
Stories vary in size from 40 to over 400 megabytes. If you are on a cellular data plan, we recommend that you download or stream stories over a WiFi connection. If you wish to view a story over 4G/LTE, open Google Spotlight Stories, click the menu button at the upper-left corner of the screen and select “Settings,” then uncheck the “Download over WiFi only” option.
How do I check my app's version?
Open Google Spotlight Stories, click the menu button at the upper-left corner of the screen, then select “About,” and the version number will be listed near the top (for example “v1.1.05”).
When I play a story, it frequently pauses for several seconds at a time, showing a busy icon
The download speed may be too low to play the story seamlessly. Try downloading the show for offline viewing instead. To do that, open Google Spotlight Stories, select one of the stories, then click the “Download” button at the bottom of the screen. After the download completes, you will be able to watch the story without interruptions.
I get the message "Unable to play story"
You'll see this message when you're not connected to the internet. To fix the issue, make sure your internet connection is enabled and working properly on your device, then try watching again.
The show crashes (or hangs up). How do I fix this?
Close the Google Spotlight Stories app by pressing back button till you reach the home screen OR swipe the app from recent apps menu, re-open it, and try again. If you continue to have issues, please contact Google Spotlight Stories at
googlespotlightstories@google.com.
Moving the phone doesn't point the camera. How do I fix this?
Close the Google Spotlight Stories app, re-open it, and try again.
If that fails try rebooting the phone, as the motion sensors might be in a bad state.
And if you continue to have issues, please contact Google Spotlight Stories at
googlespotlightstories@google.com.