Facebook Testing Snapchat-Like Stories Feature, Likely To Release Soon

Facebook is testing out Snapchat-like features that allow users to temporarily share photos or videos with each other, USA Today reports.

Facebook’s “Stories” feature lets users take photos or videos and apply text, filters and other camera effects and place them into a story profile that can be viewed by others. This feed will be available for 24 hours before disappearing. The feature is currently being tested exclusively in Ireland, but Facebook expects to expand testing to other countries in the next few months before a potential launch for Facebook Stories, according to USA Today.

In a statement to the publication, Facebook said changes in how users share content played a role in why it started testing on Stories.

"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," Facebook told USA Today. "We’ve been testing a new camera and the new Direct feature in Ireland since last fall, and Stories is another example of how we’re helping people share the way they want to."

The move to launch its own Stories features puts Facebook in line with other services like Snapchat and Instagram. With Snapchat’s financial and user success — the social network aims to break between $500 million to $1 billion in revenue this year — Instagram launched its own Stories competitor last August with virtually identical functionality.

As Facebook owns Instagram, it remains to be seen how its own Stories feature will be different from Instagram’s, which is equally similar to Snapchat. However, the feature can be another way to keep users in the Facebook ecosystem and potentially doubles as an additional channel to monetize for revenue. Earlier this month, Instagram quietly rolled out skippable ads in its Stories. Both factors play a likely role in Facebook’s Stories testing as it looks to remain competitive in the social networking space.