Facebook has extended the use of Augmented Reality (AR) effects to more people through Messenger and Portal. As reported by The Verge, up till now people have published 1 million AR effects on Facebook and Instagram but that is set to grow massively now.
Facebook has worked on its AR effects for some time now its latest round of innovations recently emerging early in September. A focus on this will be a great relief to the high ups at Facebook.
This is because it will detract from some of the scandals the company has faced in recent weeks. Most notably to the change to its user agreement which sparked anger amongst many users.
Facebook will hope announcement like this will go some way to shifting the focus back onto the positive side of the company. This move will allow users to do much more with Spark AR which is Facebook’s AR program.
Facebook extends AR effects to Messenger and Portal
AR effects did already exist in Messenger and Portal but in a very limited sense. This move means that now AR effects will come from creators outside of Facebook’s in-house team in these apps.
This expansion accompanies Facebook’s announcement about the numbers of users of Spark AR. The company now counts over 400,000 creators from 190 countries which is some quite impressive coverage.
Of these creators, the company has seen 150 of them produce over 1 billion views on Instagram over the past three months. Therefore, Facebook will hope to build on these numbers by expanding the use of these AR effects.
Facebook continues to commit to AR effects in Instagram Checkout
During the announcement of this move, Facebook reiterated its commitment to bringing this technology to Instagram Checkout. The company made the point that advertisers use this technology to allow users to try products virtually before they buy. Therefore, justifying the desire to put it in Instagram’s shopping portal.
This marks the demonstration of Facebook blanketing its platform with AR effects and technology. It is hardly surprising given the support CEO, Mark Zukaburg has given to the technology in the past.
He even has gone as far as to say it could be integral in allowing his employees to work from home. The company also has AR Glasses in the works with plans to release them next year.
This demonstrates that Facebook sees AR as playing a major role in the company’s future. Therefore, it is doing the work to set up its platform for that time when AR is that central player.