Facebook developing stand-alone camera app

Facebook Inc. is developing a stand-alone camera app to encourage its 1.6 billion users to create, and share, more photos and videos, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

A prototype of the app developed by Facebook’s “friend-sharing” team opens to a camera, similar to disappearing photo app Snapchat, the people said. Another planned feature allows a user recording video through the app to begin live streaming, they added.

The project is in its early stages and may never come to fruition, the people said.

Still, it reflects anxiety within Facebook over users’ increasingly passive behavior on the social network. Many users check Facebook daily or even multiple times a day, but fewer are sharing photos, videos and status updates about their own lives. Reversing the trend is a growing priority within the company.

A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment on product plans. The spokeswoman said the overall level of sharing on Facebook was strong and “similar to levels in prior years.” The people familiar with the matter said the camera-first format is aimed at motivating users to create photos and videos.