Facebook released its new messaging app called "Poke," which self destructs within a few seconds, reports Tech Crunch.
The new Facebook messaging app is currently available on iPhones for free download. "Pokes" allows sending texts up to 120 characters or snapshots or even videos which will be deleted after a certain time that is selected while sending the same.
It can be 1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds and may not be available to view further. Facebook pokes are encrypted and secured for two days after the message is read so they are no longer readable and after 90 days the backups are destroyed too which makes it completely inaccessible.
"When you open the app, you can choose from a set of icons at the bottom of the screen to send a poke, type a 120-character message, open the camera to snap a picture (you cannot choose an existing photo from your camera roll, but you can add fun doodles or text on top of the picture you do take), or shoot a 10-second video. Decide how long you want the other person to see your message or photo (1, 3, 5 or 10 seconds), add a location if you like, then choose one or more of your Facebook friends from the list and hit send," reported CNN.
The poke feature is available in Facebook since 2004 and the launch of the app lets you chat and share real-time. This app resembles Snapchat, which is designed to destroy the messages after a certain time.
"All Poke messages are stored in encrypted form and retained for two days after the last recipient views the poke - a process that helps facilitate abuse reporting. After that period, a Poke's encryption key is deleted.
However, it may still be possible to recover that key from logs or backups. After a fixed time period, this key becomes inaccessible, rendering the content completely unreadable (unless it was copied for abuse reporting.) Today, that fixed period can be up to 90 days, but we are working to significantly reduce that period over the next several weeks as we verify the stability of the Poke deletion system," Facebook said in a statement in Tech Crunch.
