Skip to main content

Facebook gives users the power to produce their own AR filters and frames with Camera Effects Platform

facebook frames ar studio camera effects frame
Facebook
If there is one takeaway from this year’s F8 developers conference, it is that Facebook is going all-in on augmented reality. The social networking titan is positioning its new Camera Effects Platform as the first of its kind — a space and toolset that allows artists, developers, or just ordinary Facebook users to build frames and filters they can overlay on top of their pictures, videos, and Facebook Live posts.

The Camera Effects Platform can be divided into two halves — Frame Studio and AR Studio. Frame Studio is a web-based editor that allows anyone with a Facebook page to build an effect they can adorn their photos and profile pictures with, or share friends. The creator’s name will appear alongside the frame every step of the way, and Facebook has published guidelines as to how frames should be made and what criteria they need to be shared.

Recommended Videos

AR Studio, unsurprisingly, is a little more complicated and is currently restricted to a closed beta for Mac users. This tool allows developers to combine the Facebook Camera’s vision algorithms and sensor data with their own content to add interactive effects and animations to posts. To get the ball rolling, Facebook already released two AR Studio-powered effects on Facebook Live: This or That, and Giphy Live.

This or That is a game in which two choices to the titular question appear as an effect over the live feed. The broadcaster can select their own answer, and the audience can chime in with hashtags to pick the option they think the broadcaster will go for.

Giphy Live also encourages interaction between hosts and viewers, albeit in a much more oddball way. The audience can comment with hashtags, the most popular of which will show up in a ticker at the top of the frame. As the results flow in, the broadcaster can select one and the related GIF will display in a news-style windowed format next to their head.

TripIt
TripIt

These are just two of many interactive experiences that will be arriving on the Camera Effects Platform over the coming months, and Facebook says it has already secured a number of high-profile partnerships during the beta period, including Electronic Arts’ recently released game Mass Effect: Andromeda, soccer teams Manchester United and Real Madrid, and even travel-planning app TripIt.

TripIt’s upcoming camera effect builds a unique frame based on your itinerary and makes it accessible through a dedicated button in the top-right corner of the app. With it, you will be able to quickly fire off travel-themed selfies and share your exploits with friends.

You can try out the Frame Studio for yourself right here, or apply for the AR Studio closed beta by following this link.

Adam Ismail
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Adam’s obsession with tech began at a young age, with a Sega Dreamcast – and he’s been hooked ever since. Previously…
I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened
An Instagram profile on an iPhone.

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.

Read more
Here’s how to delete your YouTube account on any device
How to delete your YouTube account

Wanting to get out of the YouTube business? If you want to delete your YouTube account, all you need to do is go to your YouTube Studio page, go to the Advanced Settings, and follow the section that will guide you to permanently delete your account. If you need help with these steps, or want to do so on a platform that isn't your computer, you can follow the steps below.

Note that the following steps will delete your YouTube channel, not your associated Google account.

Read more
How to download Instagram photos for free
Instagram app running on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Instagram is amazing, and many of us use it as a record of our lives — uploading the best bits of our trips, adventures, and notable moments. But sometimes you can lose the original files of those moments, leaving the Instagram copy as the only available one . While you may be happy to leave it up there, it's a lot more convenient to have another version of it downloaded onto your phone or computer. While downloading directly from Instagram can be tricky, there are ways around it. Here are a few easy ways to download Instagram photos.

Read more