Facebook has found a new way to copy Snapchat with its new "Messenger Day," which lets users post ephemeral photos and videos complete with filters.
Snapchat's whopping success has tempted many rivals to copy its recipe and many have tried, including Facebook. After several experimental attempts, Facebook is now giving it another shot and is testing another Snapchat clone in Poland, where Snapchat is not as popular as it is elsewhere in the world.
Some users in Poland have reportedly started to see some new features in their Facebook Messenger and they're highly reminiscent of Snapchat. Called Messenger Day, Facebook's new experiment lets users create ephemeral stories with photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. The service also lets users set privacy controls, such as specifying who can see their latest posts.
Facebook has confirmed the tests to TechCrunch, but did not offer additional details at this point.
"We know that people come to Messenger to share everyday moment with friends and family," Facebook told TechCrunch. "In Poland, we are running a small test of new ways for people to share those updates visually. We have nothing more to announce at this time."
It's worth pointing out here that Facebook often runs small tests to a limited audience before deciding whether to roll out new products or features to other regions. That said, there's no guarantee that the Messenger Day that's currently in testing in Poland will even make it to other markets worldwide.
Facebook could release it globally at some point, but only if it proves successful during this testing phase. Considering that Snapchat has 60 million daily users in the United States and Canada, Facebook's Messenger Day should have a stellar performance abroad to warrant a wider release stateside.
As for how the new experimental feature works, it's all very similar to Snapchat Stories — another feature Facebook has copied on its Instagram service with the fairly recent Instagram Stories.
Messenger Day users can draw or add text to images in the same way they can on Snapchat, but Facebook does add a new element: graphic filters, which serve as suggestions for what to share rather than just celebrating events and holidays or sharing your location.
Facebook's new Messenger Day also offers more than a hundred stickers with no features borrowed from Snapchat.
Oddly enough, users currently testing this feature apparently have no way to opt out, so Facebook is basically forcing it on Messenger users in Poland.
It remains to be seen whether Facebook's new Messenger Day will prove to be successful enough in Poland as to warrant a global release, but we'll keep you up to date as soon as we learn more.
