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Facebook Will Delete Synced Photos Unless You Download Its 'Moments' App

The announcement might not even apply to you.

Facebook users were alarmed after hearing the social media site would be deleting photos synced from mobile devices if they didn't move over to Moments, its new photo-sharing app.

But unless you've been automatically syncing your photos, this probably doesn't even apply to you.

Starting in 2012, Facebook introduced an optional feature that automatically uploaded photos from your phone's camera roll to a private album, to make them easier to share publicly later.

This feature was discontinued last year, according to Fortune.

In 2014, Facebook moved this feature to Moments, an app that scans photos stored on your device, using face-recognition software to find pictures of your friends.

The announcement means that if you've auto-synced photos to Facebook in the past, they will be completely deleted unless you download Moments.

This does not apply to photos you've actually uploaded yourself, according to Verge.

Many see this move as another push by Facebook to force users download another one of its apps.

Earlier this month, Facebook also informed users that they were discontinuing messaging services in its mobile app, effectively forcing them to download Messenger, according to TechCrunch.

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