pokeWhen Snapchat launched a video update last week, AllThingsD reported that Facebook was planning on releasing its own photo and video sharing app to compete with Snapchat. Facebook’s new standalone app, Facebook Poke, was released today, expanding on Facebook's original "poke" concept.

After connecting to Facebook Poke with a Facebook account, users can take a video or photo, write a message, or send a standard poke notification to friends who are also Facebook users. Each message lasts only a few seconds before expiring, after which time it is no longer visible.

If a screenshot is taken, users are notified with a bright orange icon on the feed, which is the same functionality found in Snapchat. Users can browse through sent messages in Poke by tapping and holding on a message.

facebookpoke

Media sent via Facebook Poke is not visible in the standard Facebook app, but people will get a Facebook notification to download Facebook Poke to see Poke messages. Like the rest of Facebook's apps, Poke has a menu for reporting inappropriate content.

Facebook Poke is a free download on Apple's App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

kjs862 Avatar
kjs862
169 months ago
Wow, sexting gone mainstream. :eek:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bassfingers Avatar
bassfingers
169 months ago
Facebook is bloated and dying. It's got 18 months left before its replaced by something clean and simple
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iwan073 Avatar
iwan073
169 months ago
Facebook is bloated and dying. It's got 18 months left before its replaced by something clean and simple

You mean Google Plus
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
bushido
169 months ago
i dont get the point ... ?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jj47 Avatar
jj47
169 months ago
Why won't Facebook die already?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
avanpelt
169 months ago
This will likely be quietly shelved in a few months. I'm sure it's just an experiment by Facebook to see if it takes off; and I doubt they really expect it to be a success. With a name like "Poke"? C'mon! For a second I thought I had pulled up the Onion!

----------

Each message lasts only a few seconds before expiring, after which time it is no longer visible.

They left the last part out: "...but it will be stored on Facebook's servers indefinitely."
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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