Some of our users may be familiar with the interface shown above. That’s an image from an app called MQSRD, or Masquerade, a selfie app with a unique twist. You can use special effects to change your look, or create video selfies with the effects. Then, from right in the app, you can share your changes with your friends. Whether you want to transform into an animal or give yourself a cartoony makeover, the app will probably have what you’re looking for. According to an announcement by Masquerade on Wednesday, they have been bought up by Facebook. Facebook’s intentions in the buyout are apparently related to video communication. This makes sense, given Facebook’s huge push into the video market lately, especially in ads and mobile, which is a key area in which an app like this could show benefits.
Masquerade CEO Eugene Nevgen made a special announcement on their website to give users the news, as well as to thank Yuri Gurski and Gagarin Capital, two of their benefactors. The announcement also said that the app will continue being worked on, updated and fixed, remaining perfectly usable while Facebook is working on integrating the technology behind Masquerade into their own tools. In the announcement, Nevgen takes a humble tone to express his shock at the scale of the opportunity before Masquerade, calling the 1.6 million odd Facebook users that Masquerade can now reach, “a scale of audience we never imagined was possible.”
No word was given on how long Masquerade’s app will stay independent, or operational for that matter. Similarly, nothing much was said about what Facebook apps and services may be receiving the additional tweaks that could be provided by integration of Masquerade’s technologies or when users may start to see that happen. With Facebook pushing hard into video on desktop and mobile, it’s not hard to see why buying up an app like this may benefit them. The technology behind Masquerade could very well help Facebook to completely change up the user interface and feature set for some of their live video offerings, but as mentioned above, nothing has been made official at this time besides the deal itself.
