Dive Brief:
- Mashable reported Friday that there is a new "Status" feature hidden in the most recent public beta build of Facebook messaging app WhatsApp.
- Status will let users share multiple updates throughout the day, and the updates will disappear after 24 hours in a manner clearly emulative of Snapchat's My Stories model.
- Facebook recently added Snapchat-like stories to Instagram, and is reportedly testing a standalone ephemeral video messaging app in the vein of Snapchat.
Dive Insight:
Imitation can be the highest form of flattery, and when trying to pinpoint the key 15 to 35 demographic hooked on Snapchat, it might be the order of the day. Facebook seems particularly eager to replicate Snapchat's content model following a failure to buy the ephemeral video messaging service for $3 billion in 2013.
Some of its efforts appear to be working, with Instagram Stories hitting 100 million daily active users just two months after launch, according to TechCrunch. The new WhatsApp rumors show Facebook isn't shying away from extending the copy cat approach elsewhere.
According to Mashable, WhatsApp users who have access to the new beta build still have to download a third-party app to enable Status, so the feature might not appear on the standard version anytime soon.
WhatsApp provides a wealth of ad targeting data that can benefit marketers, but the platform has run into issues over its handling of users' privacy, with consumer privacy groups filing complaints to the FTC in August.
