WhatsApp recently announced that it is set to roll out a new update that will incorporate Snapchat-like features to the messaging platform, including the ability to scribble text and place emojis over photos and videos.
Other new features include a double tap function to quickly switch between the front and rear camera, a pinch to zoom function for video recording, and a screen brightening tool that acts as a front-facing flash for selfies.
The cheeky move isn’t entirely unprecedented as WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, a company known to have copied many popular features in the past. The site has integrated Twitter-like hashtags, Foursquare inspired check-ins, and even acquired the entire Instagram platform outright.
Facebook’s sudden introduction of Instagram stories earlier this year was a undisguised rip-off of Snapchat’s ‘stories’ feature, with Zuckerberg and his team clearly adopting an ‘if you can’t buy them, copy them’ approach after failing to acquire the app in 2013. This latest introduction of new WhatsApp camera features strongly indicates that Snapchat is no longer an underdog and is seen as a threat by Facebook.
The new camera features will roll out on Android phones immediately with an iPhone roll out coming soon. Alternatively, you can download Snapchat right now. The choice is yours!
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2016-10-7 03:00