Facebook nabs face-swapping app Masquerade to take on Snapchat
It looks like Travolta and Cage were on to something.
The face-swapping filter on Snapchat is getting plenty of use as of late, and Facebook is joining the fray as well. Zuckerberg & Co. bought the popular app Masquerade (MSQRD) that offers a similar feature. Masquerade's CEO Eugene Nevgen confirmed the move in a blog post, explaining that the company is going to "join forces with Facebook and bring the technology to even more people." Financial details weren't disclosed for the transaction that brings Facebook the technology to apply filters to videos.
Tech Insider reports that Facebook will still keep Masquerade as a separate app, but plans to integrate the face-swapping tech into its own software as well. Masquerade offers event-specific filters for things like The Oscars, so it's easy to see why Menlo Park would be interested in the software. For example, you can transform yourself into Leonardo DiCaprio and give your own acceptance speech. If you'll recall, Facebook also packs in add-ons like stickers and photo filters, and now it's jumping on the face-swapping bandwagon, too.
