Facebook is testing its Snapchat-like 'Messenger Day' in Australia
At this point, there are almost too many ways for Australians to share disappearing visual stories with their friends.
The country has the OG Snapchat Stories, Instagram Stories, and now at least a few have Facebook's own Messenger Day.
On Tuesday, a number of Australians on social media (and in the Mashable office) found a new feature added to the top of their Facebook Messenger app homepage.
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Messenger Day allows you to link video and photos, while adding stickers or doodling, in a feed that expires in 24 hours. The stickers are currently categorised into groups like "I'm feeling," Who's Up For?," and more.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the Australian test to Mashable.
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Facebook announced it had begun testing Messenger Day in early October, but only in Poland.
"We know that people come to Messenger to share everyday moments with friends and family. In Poland we are running a small test of new ways for people to share those updates visually," a Messenger spokesperson told Mashable at the time.
According to the one local Mashable employee with the update, Messenger Day is a little less intuitive than Snapchat and Instagram Stories. "You have to manually select to write text (the Aa button), where with Snapchat and Instagram you simply touch the screen and the text or drawing options appear," she said.
In her view, the app has too much going on for something that is supposed to be a simple extension of Messenger.
"You do have the option of either taking a photo or drawing on a pre-coloured screen, which I suppose is a point of difference," she added. For the moment, it doesn't appear to have face filters like Snapchat's infamous dog face.
On Monday, Facebook told Mashable it was also testing a newsfeed weather greeting in Australia.
UPDATE: Oct. 18, 2016, 10:13 p.m. AEDT Facebook comment added.
Topics Facebook Instagram Snapchat Social Media
Ariel Bogle was an associate editor with Mashable in Australia covering technology. Previously, Ariel was associate editor at Future Tense in Washington DC, an editorial initiative between Slate and New America.
