Facebook adds Snapchat-style feature to Messenger

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Mar 13, 2017

Facebook has released a Snapchat-style photo story feature for its Messenger platform, after the feature was first tested by in Poland and in Australia.

Released on the aptly titled “Messenger  Day” last Friday, the new ephemeral photo feature will better allow Facebook to compete with Snapchat. The new feature will allow users to share filtered or doodled-on stories with their social network of friends. Each photo or video will disappear after 24 hours. 

The ‘camera’ portion of the app has been made a central focus, provoking users to make their interactions on the app more visual. Users can also indicate if they are Active on the app or suggest activities to friends via the “Who’s Up For?” filter. Facebook Messenger’s Vice President David Marcus hinted to the press that Facebook Messenger may begin showing ads between user’s stories, giving the platform an opportunity for an increased revenue.

This feature will tighten the competition between Facebook and Snapchat. Despite Snapchat’s huge share surge after going public and the apps incredible user base of over a billion people, Snapchat has faced decelerating user growth.

Instagram, owned by Facebook, first rolled out its similar feature seven months ago. Instagram Stories was launched to get around users who were worried about ‘overposting’ – with Instagram Stories, users feel compelled to post as frequently as they want, without worrying about liked or public comments.