Jan 26, 2017 07:57 AM EST By Jordan Pine, UniversityHerald Reporter

Facebook Stories, launched last Wednesday, is an exact replica of Snapchat's feature with the same name. With a platform conveniently integrated to Facebook's sharing services, Snapchat could lose its user base. Facebook's cloning of Stories is a way for the company to address its sharing problem, which is not only declining but constantly changing based on consumers' needs.

Facebook Stories was launched in a minute-long promotional video. It allows users to share ephemeral photos and videos collected in a slideshow. The slideshow can be shared with friends or be made available privately to a user.

Facebook Stories disappears after 24 hours just like in Snapchat. The new feature was available in Ireland since last year. Facebook is currently testing the feature and will be rolling out Stories to a wider user base in the coming months.

Facebook "Stories" could spell trouble to Snapchat's looming IPO. It has the potential to steal a wider user base from Snapchat. Users could easily settle for a clone since it is now conveniently incorporated into Facebook with easy access to photos and videos.

Moreover, this is not the first time that Facebook has cloned features from its competitors. Its own subsidiary, Instagram, also copied Stories from Snapchat. Facebook Live, a video streaming service, was taken from Twitter's Periscope and Meerkat in 2015.

Stories in Instagram was launched shortly after the feature was introduced in Snapchat. In just over five months, Instagram Stories has 150 million users daily, which is statistically now equal to that of Snapchat, according to Mashable.

Instagram's success with the cloned feature may have inspired Facebook Stories. Moreover, Facebook is addressing its sharing problem after CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at investors regarding the decline of its original sharing services.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Facebook attests that Stories responds to the changes on how people share with friends and family. Although Facebook Stories, like Instagram, may be a clone, but it has the potential to be a huge hit.

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