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Facebook Kills Mostly-Dead Poke and Camera Apps

Facebook has officially killed two apps that were already mostly dead and hadn’t been updated in forever–Poke and Camera (or Camera•, to be precise). If you try to find either in the App Sto...
Facebook Kills Mostly-Dead Poke and Camera Apps
Written by Josh Wolford
  • Facebook has officially killed two apps that were already mostly dead and hadn’t been updated in forever–Poke and Camera (or Camera•, to be precise).

    If you try to find either in the App Store, you’ll come up empty handed.

    Facebook launched their Poke app in December of 2012, a Snapchat-like service that only sported the “poke” name, not its functionality. No, Poke wasn’t about Facebook’s infamous social action of “poking” others, but more about ephemeral communications. Poke allowed users to send short-lasting photos and video messages to one another–messages that would self destruct after they were viewed. Facebook launched Poke right as Snapchat began to take off.

    Although Facebook was excited about its launch (enough to erect a new Poke-themed sign at their Menlo Park headquarters), it never really caught on. It doesn’t appear that Facebook was too serious about the app, as they never really invested any time in it after launch. Now, it’s dead.

    Having said that, it’s not as if Facebook lost all interest in the ephemeral messaging trend. Reports indicted that the company attempted to purchase Snapchat for $3 billion late last year.

    Camera, on the other hand, was launched even earlier (May of 2012). It was a standalone app that not only offered Instagram-like photo-editing features, but allowed for seamless sharing to Facebook. The app debuted just weeks after Facebook announced their $1 billion Instagram acquisition, and it’s no surprise that the company let this one fall by the wayside once Instagram officially became part of the team.

    Here’s what Facebook had to say about shuttering both apps:

    “Since their launch in 2012, we’ve incorporated elements of each app into the Facebook for iOS and Android apps, including the photo upload flow used today. Neither app has been updated in some time and we’ve decided to officially end support by removing them from the app store,” said a Facebook spokesperson.

    Goodbye, Poke. So long, Camera. We hardly knew ye.

    Image via Facebook

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