Instagram's Stories Are Coming to Facebook Proper
Facebook is copying its Instagram copy of Snapchat’s feature.
After introducing Snapchat-esque Stories to Instagram last year, Facebook is bringing the feature to Facebook proper. Aptly dubbed Facebook Stories, the feature — which is currently being tested on Facebook’s mobile app — is essentially identical to Instagram Stories and allows users to share photos and videos that expire after 24 hours. As you might expect, Facebook Story posts won’t appear in the regular News Feed or your profile’s timeline. Said Facebook in a statement:
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. We want to make it fast and fun for people to share creative and expressive photos and videos with whoever they want, whenever they want.
As The Next Web points out, the implementation of Stories is just the latest in Facebook’s ongoing battle to curb Snapchat’s growth and the strategy appears to be working well so far: Instagram Stories has about 150 million users, which is roughly the size of Snapchat’s entire user base.
Though Facebook Stories is currently being tested by select users in Ireland, Facebook promises the feature will begin hitting additional countries and users soon.
