Users in France have noticed a new feature within the social network’s Messenger app that lets you set a message to self-destruct after one hour.
Advertisement
The new feature, which was first spotted by BuzzFeed News, appears in the form of a new hour glass icon in the top right corner of the Messenger app. We’ve emailed Facebook for more information, including when the feature will roll out for all users. Other major instant messaging services, such as Asian favorites Line or WeChat, have recently launched ephemeral messaging features of their own, but Snapchat’s biggest challenge will probably come from Facebook, a company that reportedly attempted to buy Snapchat for almost $3 billion back in 2013. Any messages sent with the hourglass showing will be erased automatically in an hour.
The test is being conducted only in France now, but the social media giant could end up rolling out the feature to other regions in the future, though Facebook has not yet revealed if it will or not.
The function is being examined on variations of the Messenger software for cellular units powered by Apple or Android software program. However, ephemeral messaging would still be at the core of the app.
It doesn’t seem like all too many people use the Facebook messaging app for that kind of thing, but you never know.
Just as the vanishing-message smartphone app confirmed that six billion videos are viewed daily – a three-fold surge from early this year – word spread Wednesday that one of its investors slashed the value of its holding in the startup by 25 percen…
Advertisement
It’s been a busy week for Facebook.
