Facebook is Testing Snapchat-Inspired Stories Feature

Back in August 2016, Instagram came out with a clone of Snapchat Stories. While many in the tech world initially doubted that the new feature would be successful, Instagram got the last laugh. Its Stories feature gained over 100 million daily active viewers — that’s two-thirds of Snapchat’s daily active users — in just two months.

As a recap, the Stories feature is essentially a timed slideshow of photos and videos that you can share with friends on a social network. It worked well for both Snapchat and Instagram, but will Facebook have similar success with a Stories feature?

Read More: Update to Facebook Messenger Mimics Snapchat

Facebook Tests a Stories Feature
Last month, Facebook decided to launch its own version of the disappearing slideshow feature. The initial testing began on iOS and Android in Ireland, where users could share their short-lived photos and videos to a row of little circles above their newsfeed. In the coming months, Facebook plans to expand this feature beyond Ireland, in addition to expanding onto desktop computers.

How Does Facebook Stories Work?
In both function and appearance, Facebook Stories is identical to Instagram Stories: everything disappears 24 hours after it was initially shared, and users can add filters, tap through their friends’ stories, and reply to stories with a direct message.

Facebook’s Innovations and Future
This global expansion shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been keeping an eye on Facebook, however. Over the past year, the social networking giant has proved itself a formidable player in the innovation sphere. In November 2016, Facebook Messenger launched Instant Games to allow users to play classics like PacMan right in their message threads. Only a month later, Facebook took another shot at Snapchat when it released its AI-powered Messenger Camera chock full of augmented reality filters and selfie masks.

Whatever’s next in Facebook future, it’s clear that the company can put a serious dent in Snap Inc.’s growth (and upcoming IPO), especially as platforms like Instagram continue to encroach on Snapchat’s territory. In a statement to TechCrunch, the company showed it knows exactly what users want in today’s increasingly connected digital world: “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.”