Facebook Messenger may be stepping on Snapchat’s toes. In France, some users are seeing the option to have their messages self-destruct after a period of time.
Facebook tells Buzzfeed it may be looking to roll the feature out widely.
After spinning Messenger out from its core app, Facebook has been hard at work on turning static chats into something more than a conversation. In addition to its concierge, M, Facebook also has video chat and ways to schedule services via Messenger.
As for ephemeral messaging — Facebook isn’t committing to a wider release timeframe, so we’ll have to wait for destructive messaging to randomly appear, it seems.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Update: Facebook has reached out to us with a statement:
We’re excited to announce the latest in an engaging line of optional product features geared towards making Messenger the best way to communicate with the people that matter most. Starting today, we’re conducting a small test in France of a feature that allows people to send messages that disappear an hour after they’re sent. Disappearing messages gives people another fun option to choose from when they communicate on Messenger. We look forward to hearing people’s feedback as they give it a try.
➤ Facebook Messenger tests disappearing messages in France [BuzzFeed]
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.