Snapchat has come a long way since its arrival on the scene as a ‘sexting’ app for folks naive enough to believe the ephemeral photos wouldn’t end up on the internet.
A few years on from its arrival on the social scene, it’s now a real thorn in the side of Facebook and Twitter with a wide-ranging feature set and a much stronger following among the younger crowd.
Now, facing increased competition from the ever-growing Snapchat empire, Facebook is looking to incorporate the original feature with some self-destructing messages of its own.
The social network has confirmed (via Buzzfeed) tests in France that would enable Messenger app users that to send content that’ll disappear one hour after it is sent.
The feature can be turned off as and when the user desires and won’t affect all conversations within the app.
Right now the tests are ongoing, but Facebook says it may become a staple feature in other territories in due course.
See also: Facebook Notify The new face of notifications explained
Facebook has been slowly, but surely aping Snapchat’s feature set since it had a $3 billion offer for the company rejected two years ago.
The company has added the likes of photo doodling and editing as well as a standalone ‘Slingshot’ app that aimed to replicate Snapchat’s success.
It seems Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel was wise to resist rival Mark Zuckerberg’s advances as the former is now valued at around $16 billion.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
