Facebook starts testing live photo and video filters
Facebook has launched a new, experimental feature for its mobile apps that adds Snapchat-esque live filters over the videos and photos you take. Before you get too excited, though, you should know two things: first, its “creative effects” filters are very limited, and the ones already out (which include masks and frames) are Olympics-themed. Second, only iOS and Android users in Canada, as well as iOS users in Brazil can access it at the moment.
If you’re in either country, you’ll see a notification asking you to give the creative photos and videos feature access to your camera when you launch the app. Once that’s done, a camera will be placed right on top of your News Feed to make it easy to capture new images.
Facebook says that just like Instagram Stories, the prominent camera placing and live filters are part of its strategy to become a “more video-centric network.” But since this is just the feature’s test run prior to its global rollout, it might look and work differently once it arrives in the US and other parts of world. Most people would expect a much bigger selection of creative effects, at the very least, before they make the switch from their more robust, standalone filter apps.
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