Facebook is looking to out-do Snapchat in ephemeral messaging with an update to its messaging app Slingshot.
Among the new features is the ability to follow people while still being able to privately message your friends, according to TechCrunch. Slingshot users will be able to look at a grid of posts, or Slings, from friends in the last 24 hours, a feature similar to Snapchat Stories.
The update follows about six months after the social networking giant introduced Slingshot from its Creative Labs project, which aimed at testing the design of mobile apps. Users originally could only see photos and videos from their friends by sending one of their own, but Facebook would later get rid of this "reply to unlock" feature at the request of fans.
The Slingshot team said in a blog post that it added features to the app based on what was desired among current users, Malay Mail Online reported. You no longer have to select an individual friend to look at their Slings, as the feed now shows every post from friends. Facebook also added an option to find and follow other users that aren't on your contact list.
Slingshot, which is meant more for ephemeral messages, is also letting users look back on posts from the previous day and share them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
"With Slingshot we originally set out to create a place where you could share real, raw moments with your friends," the Slingshot team wrote in the blog post. "Since we released the first version we have been listening to all of the great feedback from our community and have been cranking away at a big update."
