In a bid to lure more people from Snapchat, especially teenagers; Facebook has over the months been aggressively duplicating features a la Snapchat. The company made its intentions obvious with the launch of Instagram Stories and this features has been extended to Whatsapp, Messenger and now Facebook.
The social media giant added Facebook Stories as well as Camera Effects and Direct. Camera Effects allows the user add masks, frames and interactive filters (effects) when uploading photos or video while Direct – Instagram’s equivalent for Inbox, allows for sharing disappearing Stories with friends.
Facebook has also partnered with brands to add filters geared towards kids and teens such as Alien: Covenant, Despicable Me 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Power Rangers, and Smurfs: The Lost Village and Wonder Woman. In addition, It will also feature guest arts from visual artists such as Douglas Coupland and Hattie Stewart.
The main feature – Stories has an icon at the top of the feed like Instagram, and as expected, they are momentary (epheremal) and only last 24 hours. Also, they won’t necessarily appear on the timeline or News Feed, unless shared there. Facebook Stories is currently available on the latest version of the Facebook app for Android and iOS.
