Social media is in the midst of an arms race right now, with every major player implementing their own image messaging service. Snapchat was this system’s originator, and since launching way back in 2011, they’ve had the instant picture market completely cornered. Things only began to heat up last summer when Instagram swooped in and introduced their own version of the service simply called, “Stories”.
Users were quick to notice the similarities between the two aforementioned apps and even went as far as declaring Instagram’s latest feature a “Snapchat killer”. It’s been a good few months of simultaneous operation and both Snapchat and Instagram continue to be their own successful entities. Not to be outdone, Facebook has upped the ante this week by debuting their very own copycat. Aptly titled, Facebook Stories, the new addition lives within the company’s Messenger app and is now available to use worldwide.
Much like its counterparts, Facebook Stories allow users to upload videos and pictures with a lifespan of 24 hours. These visuals are then docked at the top of the screen alongside stories posted by friends. The new feature is far from groundbreaking, but it does give us all another reason to play around with Facebook. And before you ask, yes Stories have cool new filters. To acquire the feature, go to your mobile app store and update Facebook Messenger.
If you’ve yet to try out Messenger, you can download the app on the iOS or Google Play stores.
