Facebook tests a feature copied from its own family member
Facebook has confirmed that the test is underway and plans on doing more testing of Popular Photos in the future. Only a very small percentage of Facebook users are part of the testing process. The feature opens when a user taps on a photo in his News Food or on a profile; this creates a full-screen view of the image. While swiping and scrolling on the image usually takes the user back to his feed, those that are part of the test will see more photos along with a button that says “See More Photos.” And since Popular Photos is offering a way to communicate visually, captions are capped at 65 characters; Facebook users see the date and time that a photo was posted and can “Like” the image and leave a comment.
Facebook could also monetize the feature by adding ads in between the photographs. Of course, this would depend on whether or not Facebook decides to officially rollout out Popular Photos to all mobile users. This wouldn’t be the first feature that it took from its stablemate although, in the case of Stories, Instagram had already copied it from Snapchat.