NEW YORK – Facebook is adding more Snapchat-like features to its app. The company says it wants to let your camera “do the talking” as more people are posting photos and videos instead of blocks of text.
Facebook is rolling out an app update starting Tuesday. With it, you can tap a new camera icon on the top left corner. That opens up the phone’s camera to do a photo or video post. You could have posted photos from the app before, but it took an extra tap.
Once you open the camera, you’ll find Facebook’s other new Snapchat-like features, including filters that can be added to images.
Other effects, such as animations and other interactive filters, are a new twist to dressed-up photos.
Also new is a “stories” tool that lets you post photos and videos that stay live for 24 hours. This feature is already available on Messenger and Instagram, which is owned by Facebook.
Snapchat pioneered camera-first sharing and is wildly popular with younger users. Years ago, Facebook tried to buy the company but was rebuffed. Since then, it has been trying, with varying degrees of success, to clone Snapchat’s most popular features.
It might be working: Snapchat’s growth rate has slowed down since Instagram introduced its own “stories” feature.
BARBARA ORTUTAY