Facebook pulls the plug on Snapchat clone Lifestage
Facebook has closed down its controversial teen-focused Lifestage app after a year of operation. Aimed squarely at Snapchat's user base, Lifestage enabled teens to use pictures and videos to connect with schoolmates. However, the lack of age controls led to concern around the feature. A spokesperson for the social media giant said: "Teens continue to make up an important part of the global community on Facebook, and we've learned a lot from Lifestage".

Facebook has pulled the plug on its teen-focused Lifestage app – that was intended to work as a direct rival to Snapchat – almost a year after its launch.

The app was created to help teens connect with other classmates at their school through the use of selfies and videos, as opposed to direct messaging. It also blocked anybody who listed their age as over 21 from accessing anything more than their own profile – though there were no age verification tools or checks, so you could enter any age. This, as you’d expect, led the app to receive a lot of criticism surrounding privacy – one person even dubbing it as “sorta creepy” shortly after the app’s release.

Though the app never really took off, as Facebook would’ve hoped. The app paved the way for the Snapchat-like features we now see in the main Facebook app and Instagram.

“We originally launched Lifestage to make it easier for teens in the US to connect with others at their school by creating a video profile with content for all of things that make up their identity,” a Facebook spokesperson told Business Insider. “Teens continue to make up an important part of the global community on Facebook, and we've learned a lot from Lifestage. We will continue to incorporate these learnings into features in the main Facebook app.”

On top of killing off Lifestage, Facebook has also discontinued the Facebook Groups app for Android and iOS, instead fully shifting its focus to groups in the main Facebook app and on Facebook.com.

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