The new feature is projected to directly compete with the app that has spearheaded ephemeral messaging into the world, SnapChat, which now brags a massive 200 million daily users. Turning it on is done by simply tapping on the hourglass icon found at the top of the chat window.
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“Disappearing messages gives people another fun option to choose from when they communicate on Messenger”, Facebook said in a statement to CNET.
Disappearing conversation feature would put Facebook in line with smartphone-messaging rival Snapchat.
She continues: “Starting today, we’re conducting a small test in France of a feature that allows people to send messages that disappear an hour after they’re sent”. The company is now testing disappearing messages, which is its latest attempt at introducing features which are Snapchat like. According to TechCrunch, the feature is at the moment available to users of Android and iOS operating systems in France.
The feature can be turned on or off just by clicking the hourglass icon in any message thread. But a few missed shots have been fired in the past when Facebook tried to compete with Snapchat, such as the Slingshot and Poke features.
Los Angeles-based Snapchat rocketed to popularity in the United States, especially among teenagers, after the initial app was released in September 2011. Especially, Teenagers preferred this Snapchat messaging app. Facebook had earlier attempted to buy Snapchat for a rumored $3 billion dollars in 2013, but Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel refused the offer.
The personal digital assistant – dubbed “M” – completes tasks along with seeking out information at the behest of users. This assistant will assist users by answering queries with live human help.
The self-deleting message feature is limited to France for now, but Facebook told Buzzfeed it might roll it out elsewhere in future.
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Zeus Kerravala, an analyst with ZK Research, has long noted that those all-important younger uses are forsaking Facebook for other sites. Yet, the company has not revealed whether the feature comes to India or not.
