It is no secret Facebook wants to monopolise smartphone screens with its own apps. This week, the social network released another standalone app, Notify.
The app promises to personalise user's news consumption experience by sending notifications whenever news breaks around a topic they are interested in.
Once the app is downloaded, users are able to sign up for alerts on topics such as sports, news, celebrities, shopping, movies and music.
Tapping on a notification will take the user directly to the news story from a locked screen. Once in the news story, users have the option to share with friends. Swiping right on the notification, from a locked screen, saves the article for later reading.
Content is drawn from publications such as Fox News, Vogue, Washington Post and CBS, among others.
"Notifications are becoming one of the primary ways people first learn about things wherever they are," said Julian Gutman, Facebook product manager, in a blog post.
"Notify delivers timely notifications about the things that matter to you, from the sources you love, all in one place."
The app is only available in the US, and only to iPhone users. However, it will roll out to other countries as soon as media partners are signed in those regions. The full list of over 50 media partners is available here.
Top news driver
In August, Facebook became the first point of call for news consumers, favouring news brought to them on the social platform instead of searching Google to find it themselves, according to research.
In May, the main Facebook app started experimenting with Instant Articles. This feature saw articles from selected news organisations appearing in the social network's News Feed.
The rollout, it was reported, represented a huge change in how people get their news and could largely increase readership for the articles published on the social media platform.
Facebook has 1.5 billion monthly active users, with 83% coming from outside the US and Canada.
Publishers have little choice but to cooperate with Facebook, Vivian Schiller ? a former executive at NBC, The New York Times and Twitter, who now advises media companies and brands ? told the New York Times. "That's where the audience is. It's too massive to ignore."
Notify from Facebook from Facebook on Vimeo.
Share
