Facebook has added a camera to it Messenger app, incorporating yet another multimedia feature into a messaging system that in the past worked more like a simple e-mail service. To top it all off, Facebook Messenger's camera comes with various artistic effects that are seen as a challenge to Snapchat.
Facebook decided to include a camera in Messenger as a way of "upgrading" people's conversations. Forbes reports that according to Stan Chudnovsky, the head of product for Facebook Messenger, the company has observed people becoming more visual when sending messages to each other.
Facebook was reported to have worked with artists from all over the world to customize the designs and effects for the Messenger's camera, which will roll out worldwide in the next few days. Using the new feature, people can apply text, drawings, 3D masks, and other artistic special affects to photos taken using Facebook Messenger. Users can also add stickers and emojis, and create art filters to bring out the best in any photo.
Facebook Messenger's camera and art effects are a huge step forward from the text-based system it used to have. Data have shown that more and more people are communicating with each other using emojis and stickers instead of writing, and Facebook wanted to adapt to the growing trend and capitalize on it.
Many have noticed the new feature's similarity with Snapchat, a social networking app that's considered a major competitor to Facebook and Instagram. Facebook Messenger's camera and special effects are meant to directly compete with Snapchat, The Verge reports.
The Verge says Facebook essentially copied Snapchat's most popular features in the hope of giving users more reasons to share stuff on its platforms. Facebook Messenger hit more than 1 billion active users worldwide last July, and it wants to grow its user base even more.
Instagram, which Facebook now owns, has also posed direct challenges to Snapchat. Instagram added a Stories section where people can post photos or videos that disappear after 24 hours and beefed it up with new features.
