There’s a reason Instagram now has more users than Twitter: The photo-sharing app turns your poorly lit images into filtered masterpieces. Facebook is now taking a cue from its subsidiary with a new feature that auto-enhances the photos you upload within the Facebook app for iOS.
The changes are subtle and still give you control over the final result via a wand that appears on the lower left corner of the image. Tapping the wand reveals a slider that lets you amp up the enhancement or turn it way down. Many Facebook users won’t even notice that their uploads are being gussied up, which is sort of the point: to make photos look good without appearing filtered.
Facebook’s new photo-enhancing tool is automatic but easily disabled.
The new tool won’t appeal to everyone, especially because it’s an opt-out feature. But you can turn it off if you want, The Next Web noted. To disable auto-enhancements, go into the app’s video and photo settings and toggle off the “enhance automatically” option.
Facebook is now wading into ground well-covered by Google+, which has become a platform beloved by photographers if no one else. The Auto Awesome feature in G+ lightly polishes the photos you upload, and even knows when a series of action shots would make the perfect GIF. The network also adds novelty effects like falling snow to a wintry scene. Like Facebook’s new auto-enhancements, Auto Awesome is turned on by default but easily disabled.
Selfishly, I hope the auto-enhancements reduce the amount of glare and red-eye I see in my News Feed, though I doubt those low-quality duds are the products of iPhone cameras (at least the newer models). Facebook is reportedly planning to roll out the feature in its Android app soon.