Facebook just can't stop copying Snapchat

In August, Instagram released stories, almost copying the photo-and-video feature created by Snapchat

After copying Snapchat’s Stories on Instagram and then improving on them, Facebook is now testing a Stories feature as well.

According to Mashable, Facebook Stories which is still in its testing phase has been launched in Ireland, where the company has already been testing a new "in-app camera" since October 2016.



The feature announced by Facebook on Wednesday works exactly as it does on Instagram.

 

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Facebook stories’ layout looks similar to the one employed by Instagram, where each users' feed is shown in a circle at the top of the feed. The feature called 'mask' will be interactive, according to Facebook's Chief Product Officer Chris Cox.

Facebook users will also be able to send direct messages through the platform similar to Instagram's Direct where users can respond to specific friends about photos and videos shared on their story.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

 

Just like Snapchat, photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours. The photos and videos will only appear on your timeline and newsfeed if you want to.



"The way people share today is different to five or even two years ago — it's much more visual, with more photos and videos than ever before. We want to make it fast and fun for people to share creative and expressive photos and videos with whoever they want, whenever they want," a Facebook spokesperson wrote in an email.

Facebook says it hopes to bring Facebook Stories and "other fun features" to more countries over the coming months.

Earlier in August, Instagram released Instagram Stories almost copying the photo-and-video feature created by Snapchat. Despite competing with the stories giant, Instagram Stories has amassed more than 150 million daily active users in less than six months which is at par with Snapchat's latest statistics.

This article originally appeared on Mashable.

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