Facebook may have gotten its start on desktop computers, but more executives than just Zuckerberg can see the pivot toward mobile that’s happening faster every day. And Facebook is determined not to be left behind.
Masquerade, the live face-swapping selfie app burning up the App Store charts, announced Wednesday (March 9) that it had been acquired by The Social Network. In a blog post, Masquerade CEO Eugene Nevgen explained that the move isn’t expected to impact Masquerade’s current functionality, though it might let it do a little more than what it’s been doing on a startup’s budget.
“Within Facebook, we’re going to be able to reach people at a scale like never before,” Nevgen explained. “For starters, we’ll be able to bring our technology to Facebook’s audience of nearly 1.6 billion people. This is a scale of audience we never imagined was possible. While we will be partnering with Facebook to integrate our technology, the app will stay up and running so you’ll continue to record fun selfies and keep using the product. You can also expect us to keep adding fun features!”
The acquisition comes at a time when Facebook is tweaking the way users communicate with each other on its site. Whereas “likes” and “dislikes” used to be the only non-text way to respond to another’s status, the company rolled out emojis and other reactions just a few weeks ago. With Masquerade’s facial imaging capabilities and up-and-running selfie app, Facebook may be able to add another element of fun to its messaging client.
“Masquerade has built a fantastic app, MSQRD, with world-class imaging technology for video,” a spokesperson for Facebook told Tech Insider. ” We’re excited to welcome Masquerade to our team and continue enhancing the Facebook video experience.”
If anyone can take a selfie app and supercharge it, let’s hope it’s Facebook.
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