Facebook Adds Halloween Masks Filters for Live Video

Facebook adds new Halloween Masks filters.

Facebook has added a new feature for its Live Video streaming. It has launched filters which add Halloween masks during a Live video streaming session. Similar filters already exist for various apps like Snapchat.

In a move that manages to capitalize on an idea first promoted by Snapchat and Facebook’s acquisition of MSQRD, the company has launched a new augmented reality selfie filters called Masks, just in time for Halloween. Some of the many types of Halloween masks include skeleton, witch, and even pumpkin. Users can try out the new filters as soon as they start their Live video session.

The new feature has already started to roll out today to iOS users in select regions such as the UK, US, and New Zealand. The feature will see a gradual global release for all platforms in the coming months.

Capitalizing on the growing trend of celebrating the American holiday of Halloween, Facebook has also added new variants of the reactions buttons. For example, instead of the Haha button, users will see a laughing witch reaction. Unfortunately, the new Halloween reactions are available for a limited time only.

The new Live video features revitalize Facebook as it has grown stale over the years as no design and interesting tools were added in recent memory. However, Snapchat and other messaging app tools have always innovated with creative features meant to keep users interested and amused.

To start using the new Halloween Masks and more, users will have to start a Live video broadcast from the button found on their News Feed, Timeline, or Page. Afterward, tap the magic wand found in the upper left corner of the window to reveal the entire variety of special effects offered by Facebook. After selecting the masks icon, scroll through the options and select whichever mask you want to show up on your face. The masks will be instantly applied as you film without any complicated process being required.

In the app industry, it’s a common practice for companies to copy a certain idea from a competitor and apply it to their own app using their own code. Although augmented reality filters aren’t anything new, Facebook manages to pull them off quite well as they look relatively realistic.

Image source: Facebook

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.