Facebook Is Planning Its Own Camera App to Get You to Share More Stuff

Facebook is planning a standalone camera app to rekindle your interest in sharing original content. The app, which is still in the early stages of development, will reportedly support live streaming as well as stills and video, the Wall Street Journal reports

Spurring the app’s development, the Journal says, is the increasingly passive behavior of Facebook users, who check the social-media site regularly but share less and less about their lives.

According to a report by technology-news website the Information, by mid-2015 original sharing of personal stories was down 21% from the previous year — with the trend pronounced among users under the age of 30. Facebook said overall sharing remains strong, according to a spokesperson statement cited in the report.

The social-media platform has already been making other changes to re-engage users, according to the Journal. It now reminds users about holidays and significant dates. It also launched the memory-triggering feature “On This Day.” In 2014, the company even toyed with a disappearing-picture app like Snapchat called Slingshot, but the feature never gained a following.

[WSJ]