Not for Sexting? Facebook Unveils New 'Poke' App

Don't like knowing that your text messages can live on forever? Facebook has released a new iPhone app that makes messages self-destruct after a few seconds, ABC News reports. Users of the Poke app can include a photo or video and set the time for self-destruction at one, three, five, or 10 seconds. And if the receiver screen-captures it for future viewing, the sender receives a text message saying so. Facebook says the app is designed to replicate the Web feature of "poking" in mobile devices.

Another text-destroying app called Snapchat has been available on the iPhone and is sometimes known as the "safe sexting app," but Facebook says its version is not about sending racy messages: "This is a light way and fun way to connect with your friends. ... We hope people share responsibly," says a company spokeswoman. So apparently it's not intended for the 28% of teens and 80% of college students who enjoy sexting. TechCrunch notes that Poke is already No.1 among free iPhone apps, but Mashable calls the product "frustrating as hell." (More sexting stories.)