Facebook Slingshot

Facebook Slingshot

Facebook on Friday updated its Slingshot chat app to make its bold, “pay to play” mechanic optional. If you’re not familiar with the app, until now, Slingshot asked you to send a photo before you could “unlock” the one you just received. Now, after taking a shot, you can choose if it will be “locked” or “unlocked.” It’s worth noting that your choice sticks, so you don’t need to change it every time you take a shot. With the mechanic turned off, Slingshot is effectively a much more straightforward clone of Snapchat — you can send off photos and videos that disappear after friends have seen them. The app’s innovative React camera, which lets you quickly reply to a friend’s shot, still sets the app apart from Snapchat and other apps, but, without its unique sharing mechanic, the app doesn’t feel like it’s meant for anything.

Read the full story at The Verge.

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