Facebook to develop camera app similar to Snapchat

Courtesy Daily Mail

Facebook is developing a stand-alone camera app similar to Snapchat, it has been claimed.

The firm hopes the app will increase user engagement, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The app is being developed by Facebook’s ‘friend-sharing’ team in London.

The WSJ says it is in its early stages and may never come to fruition, according to the report.

‘People familiar with the matter said the camera app under consideration is also intended to spur creation.

‘The content could then be shared to Facebook or its other properties, including Instagram.’

Earlier this year the company behind Masquerade, an app that overlays silly live filters to your selfies, has now revealed that it has been bought by Facebook.

Facebook will integrate the technology into its own capabilities in a bid to take on Snapchat, but the Masquerade app will also continue running as its own entity.

Masquerade (MSQRD) is available on the App Store and Google Play, and with the new partnership, the technology will soon be coming to Facebook, according to Tech Insider.

This follows Facebook’s recent moves to make its photo features more playful, adding stickers, doodles, and filters.

Facebook hasn’t revealed how much it paid for Masquerade, but both companies have expressed enthusiasm in moving forward with the partnership.

‘Video communication is exploding,’ the company behind Masquerade wrote in a recent blog post.

‘At Masquerade, we’ve worked hard to make video more fun and engaging by creating filters that enhance and alter your appearance.

‘Now, we’re excited to join forces with Facebook and bring the technology to even more people. Within Facebook, we’re going to be able to reach people at a scale like never before.

‘For starters, we’ll be able to bring our technology to Facebook’s audience of nearly 1.6 billion people. This is a scale of audience we never imagine was possible.’

In a similar message, a Facebook spokesperson told Tech Insider that the company is ‘excited to welcome Masquerade to our team and continue enhancing the Facebook video experience.’

If you’ve ever wondered what you would look like with Leonardo DiCaprio’s face or Harry Potter’s signature scar, Masquerade has a filter for you.

The free app has dozens of live filters, which can be used for videos and still photos.

Filters cover everything from celebrity ‘masks’ to animal faces, the poop emoji, and few demonic creatures.

The app can even swap your face with someone else’s, turning out results that are both horrifying and hilarious all at once.

The company combines experts in machine learning, face detection and tracking, facial expression recognition, 3D-graphics, and visual effects to generate the app’s capabilities.

In the post, CEO Eugene Nevgen writes that the company will continue to add features to the standalone app moving forward.