Facebook Testing Snapchat's Stories-like Feature for Its Messenger App

By Sowmya Venkataramani - 03 Oct '16 15:40PM

According to a Techcrunch report, Facebook has test launched a new feature that mimics the wildly successful "Stories" format of Snapchat.

The latest feature named "Messenger Day" was seen in Poland which allows users to share filter-enhanced customized photos and videos that are destroyed in 24 hours. The feature was launched as a part of its popular standalone app, Messenger which is said to have more than a billion users.

Facebook acknowledged the launch and said that it was exploring new ways to encourage people to share news of their lives.

"We know that people come to Messenger to share everyday moments with friends and family. In Poland we are running a small test of new ways for people to share those updates visually. We have nothing more to announce at this time," said a Facebook spokesperson.

A possible strategy for Facebook could be to push through the product in markets where Snapchat is yet catch on. In markets like U.S. or Canada where Snapchat is already highly used, with aggregated users numbering 60 million, Facebook's new feature might not have much impact. But in other countries it could be an attractive feature that retains users.

Messenger Day is said to work almost exactly the same as Snapchat. According to Techcrunch, the biggest innovation added by the Facebook team is that graphic filters are used for suggestions for sharing stories not just holidays or events. There are prompts like "I'm Feeling", "Who's Up For?" and "I'm Doing". Tapping on them brings up filter templates such as "I'm feeling...blessed" in sparkly font or "Who's up for...road trip" with a car that users can send out.

The new addition may be a better fit for the Messenger app rather than the core Facebook app which in fact did attempt such a feature with its 'Quick Updates' but scrapped it soon after.

This the second feature of Snapchat that has been adopted by Facebook. Instagram stories was earlier one, which apparently is fast gaining in popularity in markets like Russia where Snapchat has low usage.