Facebook started testing Messenger Day a few months ago. After copying Snapchat in all its other apps, Messenger had to join Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook itself in getting its own take on the “Stories” format. Today it’s arriving on your phone.
Facebook has aimed for originality in this version of Stories by renaming it to Day. In almost every other respect, it doesn’t stray from Snapchat’s winning style, giving you yet another place to share in-the-moment glimpses of your life.
Once you’ve got the update, you’ll be able to add images to your Messenger Day by tapping the new “Add to your day” button at the top of your Messenger inbox. You can also use the recently-launched full-screen camera interface to take a selfie or video and then press the arrow to add it to your Day.
Visually, the entire Stories interface is very similar to Facebook’s existing Instagram Stories implementation. Once you’ve shot a photo, you can overlay it with text, stickers, artwork and effects. When you’ve finished editing, you’ll be able to choose whether to add the image directly to your Day or share it with a specific person or group. It’ll be viewable for the next 24 hours.
New Day posts from your friends will appear at the top of your inbox in Messenger. Tapping a friend’s profile picture will display their posts in a carousel. You’ll also be notified if a friend adds to their Day while you’re in a conversation with them, letting you check it out and return to the thread to discuss it.
Facebook emphasised the range of privacy options available with the new feature, enabling you to control who sees your posts. You can define a specific audience for each post you share. If you want to remove something before its 24 hours are up, tapping the three dots at the bottom of a post will allow you to delete it. Posts can also be saved for later or forwarded directly to a friend.
Facebook said Messenger Day will help you to share the best bits of your day with your closest friends and family. The company is encouraging users to upload frequently, intending it to be a feature that keeps people checking back into Messenger.
“You’re always in control of who can see your day — share it with everyone, or choose specific friends and family members on Messenger. Since everything you add disappears after 24 hours, feel free to add as often as you want,” said Facebook. “Millions of people around the world have already used Messenger Day to show what they’re doing, how they’re feeling and to invite friends to join them for activities — or just to chat.”
With Stories already available in Facebook’s other core properties, the question remains of whether people actually need yet another implementation. Users could be turned away from the format if they feel pressured to add posts to all the apps they’re on.
Messenger has a total audience of over 1 billion users though, giving the feature a massive number of potential launch users. Snapchat has a total user count of around 160 million. Because Messenger is already installed on most peoples’ phones, there’s no need to download another app like Instagram or Snapchat.
Although Messenger Day represents Facebook at its most derivative for a fourth time, it could also be the launch that really provides opposition to an increasingly vulnerable Snapchat. With the company on rocky ground in the days after its IPO, it needs to overcome its growth issues and attract new users.
Facebook’s hardly rivalling the company through innovation but its approach of copy everything and push it through the world’s largest apps is already working. Snapchat first encountered a major decline in growth immediately after the launch of Instagram Stories, indicating the potential that Messenger Day holds.
