If you want to use Facebook a little more like Snapchat, you might soon get your chance.
The social-media giant is testing a feature that would let users set a time for their status updates to disappear. A Facebook spokesman said the feature is part of a "small pilot" and is available only for certain people using Facebook's iOS app.
Several users reported noticing the test on their iPhones. One post on Twitter showed a list of expiration options ranging from one hour to seven days.
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It's not the first time Facebook has tried to emulate emerging social media services designed to be used in the moment without leaving a permanent digital mark.
In 2012, Facebook toyed with the concept with a standalone app, Poke. Apparently coded in part by CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself, the effort was described as something of a lark over a holiday weekend.
It was shut down this year and replaced by Slingshot, a similar app on which short-lived messages show up only once two users have sent them to each other.
The ephemeral has become increasingly alluring in the social-media world, particularly among younger users, in the past couple of years. The runaway success of Snapchat, which lets you send photos, texts or videos that disappear in a matter of seconds, has led the way.
The scheduled deletions on Facebook, as being considered, obviously have a longer shelf life than a few seconds. Users might also want to delete updates that would no longer be of use after a short time, i.e. "I'll be in Atlanta until noon tomorrow" or "I have two tickets for tonight's concert. Who wants to go?