Facebook has launched a standalone iOS app called Lifestage for 13 to 21-year-olds that allow users to record various videos to build their profile, rather than completing text fields. The Lifestage app, created by 19-year-old Facebook product manager Michael Sayman, requests users to upload videos showing their ‘Happy Face’, Sad Face’, ‘Dislikes’, ‘Likes’, ‘Best friend’ and more.

Lifestage is based on a school by school basis, so users will only be able to see the profiles of other Lifestage users who are at their school. However, the app has no way of checking whether a person actually attends a specific school, so a user could be connected to a specific high school on the app, which they don’t actually attend.

While the app is aimed at youngsters aged between 13 – 21, predominantly high schoolers, it is possible for anyone to download the Lifestage app. If you are over 22 and decide to download the app you will only be able to see your profile, which kind of defeats the point of a social networking app and at this stage is pretty pointless.

The age range of 13 to 19-year-olds make up just eight percent of Facebook’s user numbers in the U.S. (as of January 2016) so Lifestage could be an attempt to capture more of the younger market away from the likes of Snapchat. Facebook-owned Instagram was recently updated with a Stories feature, similar to Snapchat’s own My Story feature. The Lifestage app also stays consistent with Mark Zuckerberg’s aim of putting video first in all Facebook apps and services.

If you fall within the age range, or even if you don’t, we look at how you can set up your Lifestage account and get started recording your videos.

Set up a Facebook Lifestage account

• Download the iOS Lifestage app (requires iOS 8.0 or later), an Android version is on its way.
• Enter your age and valid phone number.
• Validate your account by entering the number sent to your iPhone and agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
• You will also need to enter your high school and the app will only start showing you other people in your school once 20 people from the same school have signed up.
• As Lifestage does not include a way to contact people directly in the app, you can add other social media accounts, like a Snapchat or Instagram handle.

Create a post on Facebook Lifestage

Lifestage is made up of a series of videos and after the signup process the app will prompt you to record your ‘Happy Face’.

• The ‘Happy Face’ frame will appear on your phone, when you are ready to record, press and hold down on the screen. The gray circle will indicate your recording has started.
• Let go of the screen to stop the recording.
• The recording will play back in a loop. Tap the checkmark icon if you are happy with it or the trash can if you are not.

Choose from 11 different category frames

• Open the Lifestage app and you will see the recording screen. Swipe up from the middle of the screen to see the list of 11 categories, including ‘Likes’, ‘Dislikes’, ‘School’, ‘Music’, ‘Food’, etc.
• Tap the relevant category to see the different frames and select a frame.
• Record your video as above, and tap the green checkmark to add it to your profile.  

Tip: These frames can be updated as often as you like.

How to view, remove and save videos

To view previous videos: Swipe left on the recording screen and scroll through all of videos.

To remove a video: Swipe left on the recording screen > find the relevant video that you want to delete > tap and hold the video > select the trash icon.

To save a video to your camera roll: Swipe left on the recording screen > find the relevant video that you want to save > tap and hold the video > select the camera roll icon.

View other school friends’ Lifestage profiles

• Open the Lifestage app > swipe down from the middle of the recording screen > you will see a list of people from your school with a Lifestage profile.
• Tap a person’s name and view the videos on their profile.
• To return to the video recording screen, tap the number in the top right.

Note: 20 people from your school need to be signed up to the Lifestage app to unlock your school. If this hasn’t happened you will be able to invite friends to join.  

Since launching on Friday, Lifestage hasn’t seen overwhelming support on the App Store, but time will tell whether the app is a success for Facebook and breaks the bad luck it had with previous standalone apps like Poke, Slingshot, Paper, and Notify.

Sources: Facebook; iDigitalTimes

Image via: Facebook