No Surprise: Facebook Stories is Currently Undergoing Testing
It shouldn’t come a huge surprise, but Facebook is indeed testing a Facebook Stories feature in its mobile app. The news was first reported by Business Insider.
Look familiar?
The Facebook Stories feature looks strikingly similar to the layout in Instagram. Tap on the friend's circle to see their story.
The feature is currently only available in Ireland, but Facebook told the site that the rollout will grow in the upcoming months as the feature will expand to other countries.
As you probably noticed, Facebook Stories looks virtually identitical to the same feature on Instagram. You’ll add photos and videos to an individual story. Friends can then tap through to see all of the different media that can be spruced up with different filters and geofilters. Everything will disappear without a trace in 24 hours.
Facebook Stories won’t appear in a News Feed or a timeline. You can respond to a story only with a direct message.
“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,” Facebook said in a statement. “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.”
Instagram, owned by Facebook, added the feature back in mid-2016 and has seen it resonate with users. More than 150 million users access the feature, and Instagram said earlier this month that it will soon add full-screen ads.
And increasing ad revenue is more than likely the top reason Facebook is looking to add the feature to its popular app.