Some people will call it inspiration while others will say it’s downright copying. I am talking about what Facebook is about to do to its main app that will definitely not go well with some people. According to TechCrunch, Facebook is testing new Snapchat-style camera features with a few users before it rolls it out to the general public. The company says, “We may test more variations of these before rolling this out globally.” This comes a few months after Instagram (a company owned by Facebook) launched its own version of Snapchat Stories.
Some of the features expected include filter overlays that add special effects on photos and videos to turn your and your friends into different characters. These features are still being tested and we should be seeing them on the official Facebook app very soon.
If you remember correctly, Facebook tried to buy Snapchat back in 2013 but the deal did not go through. Copying what Snapchat does may be seen as Facebook’s only option since it cannot buy the company.
“We want to make visual sharing on Facebook fast, fun, and flexible” says the new camera’s product manager Sachin Monga. This is clearly meant to attract millennials to the platform and prevent them from going to others such as Snapchat.
Facebook tested a similar feature during the 2016 Olympic games in Rio and it looks like the company is finalizing things before rolling it out to the public.
When it rolls out, you will be able to send a photo or video to the News Feeds or to some of your contact directly. The contacts you send the photo or videos to will have 24 hours to view them before they disappear, this is exactly like Snapchat. Messages can also be viewed once before they disappear just like Snapchat.
