Way back in mid-2012, Facebook launched a new iPhone app called Facebook Camera that was meant to make it easy for users to take and upload photos to the social network. Facebook pulled that app two years later, but now it’s rumored that Facebook may be prepping another camera app.
A Wall Street Journal report claims that Facebook is developing a “stand-alone camera app.” The app is meant to encourage Facebook users to share photos to Facebook. To do so, it reportedly opens up directly to your phone’s camera. The app is also meant to make it easier to start streaming video to Facebook Live.
This Facebook camera app is said to be in the early stages of its development, and the sources of today’s report cautioned that it may not actually be released to the public.
Photos and videos are a big part of Facebook, as they’re a part of what gets people to interact with one another and relive memories as Facebook grows older. The regular Facebook app opens on the News Feed, though, prompting you to view others’ photos and videos rather than share your own. This new Facebook camera app is meant to push folks to share their own photos and videos, but if it does get released, Facebook will have to figure out a way to get people to use their camera app instead of the one that came built in to the phone.