Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Facebook is testing a new messaging product that looks a lot like Snapchat

Facebook’s Snapchat envy continues.

Facebook is testing another new product that looks and feels very similar to — you guessed it — Snapchat.

The social network built a new camera and messaging feature that Facebook says will let users “share moments as they happen and express yourself more.” The camera includes a number of optional special effects like facial masks, and once a photo or video is opened you’ll have 24 hours to respond to it otherwise it’ll disappear.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before.

Yes, this new camera sounds a lot like Snapchat’s disappearing messages, which shouldn’t be a surprise given how many times Facebook has tried to copy Snapchat’s ephemeral messaging product in the past.

What’s different this time is that Facebook built this product into its flagship app — the app with 1.7 billion users. Previous efforts to capture the Snapchat magic were presented as standalone apps like Poke and Slingshot. This new camera even comes with a separate inbox inside the core Facebook app, which means you don’t need to use Messenger to send these photos and videos back and forth.

The camera is just a test, and it’s only available in Ireland for now. But it’s not difficult to read between the lines. Ever since spurning CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s acquisition attempt, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and Co. have emerged as Facebook’s greatest threat for the next wave of mobile-friendly teenagers. And that’s why Facebook and Instagram keep trying to replicate Snapchat’s fun features, from facial filters to Stories to funky one-to-one messages.

This update appears to be more of the same.

If the camera looks familiar to you, it’s because Facebook tested something like it right around the Olympics in a few international markets. That test was successful enough, or at least intriguing enough, to continue.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel