Facebook and YouTube focus on photo sharing

Facebook has launched a photo-sharing app just weeks after agreeing to acquire Instagram, while Google–owned YouTube has introduced an app which enables users to take photos at events when they are not physically there.

Facebook’s purchase of photo-sharing app Instagram for $1bn appears now to be a cautious move, possibly to avoid litigation, as the firm has now revealed that its developers have been working on its own version of the app, in-house. Facebook Camera is now available via iTunes and offers very similar functionality to Instagram.

CEO and founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, said he is still committed to maintaining Instagram as a standalone app, via a  statement in April, when he said: “We’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.”

Meanwhile, YouTube has also been focusing on the photo-sharing app space with the launch of FrontRow. The video-sharing site is holding a live streamed event online this week, which will be held at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. With its new app, it is encouraging viewers to share the experience with friends.

“For the first time, audiences around the globe will be able to watch select performances live on YouTube, and share the experience through a custom camera application called FrontRow,” YouTube said in its official blog.

During the livestream, users can take photos of the event through the camera app: zoom in and out to change their view, take photos during the live stream, apply filters and immediately share the photos on their social networks.