Poke! Facebook Launches New App For Sending 'Self-Destructing' Messages

Facebook has just launched Facebook Poke, its brand new iOS app that is nothing if not a clone of the popular messaging app Snapchat. Just a few days ago, we told you about the imminent release of a Snapchat-like app from Facebook, which was first reported by AllThingsD. And now, that app has arrived in the App Store. Like Snapchat, which has, not unreasonably, earned a reputation as a sexting app, Facebook Poke lets you send "self-destructing" messages. But while Snapchat currently supports photo and video, Facebook Poke goes the extra mile (uhm, not really) by additionally supporting text and the classic "poke" (est. 2004) for its message types. Regardless of type, each message you send to one or more of your friends expires after a specific time you've set, either 1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds. To view your message, your friend must press and hold on it until the time runs out, whereupon it disappears from the app. Of course, there's always the possibility of your friend opting to take a screenshot of your message for posterity. In that case, you'll see a flash icon next to the message in question. Designed for iPhone and iPod touch, Facebook Poke is available now in the App Store for free. It adds to the growing list of Facebook's iOS offerings, which include the main Facebook app, Messenger, Camera, Pages Manager, and, of course, the rather controversial Instagram. Will you be "poking" your friends with Facebook Poke? [gallery link="file" order="DESC"]