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Facebook has just released a new photo uploader that helps users supercharge their images.

The new tool, which just started rolling out on iOS, lets users preview filters by swiping across photos, add overlaid text in various colors, and paste Facebook stickers anywhere on an image 鈥� the resemblance to features offered on popular mobile messaging service Snapchat has not been lost on pundits.

鈥淚f putting text, swipeable filters, and re-sizable emoji on photos sounds familiar, it might be because that鈥檚 exactly what Snapchat does,鈥� technology journalist Josh Constine wrote for TechCrunch.

These latest updates are not Facebook鈥檚 first attempt at making the expiring-message trend their own. In 2013, shortly after it bought Instagram for $1 billion, the social network giant offered 鈥渃lose to $3 billion鈥� for Snapchat 鈥� an offer that the messaging service turned down, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Since then, Facebook has launched a series of applications designed to outdo Snapchat, but with little success: last year, the social network pulled Poke, an app that let users send quick-to-expire photos, videos, messages, or pokes, from the Apple App Store with little fanfare.

Slingshot, which sends editable, ephemeral messages that users have to 鈥渦nlock鈥� to send, is still available, but the app鈥檚 鈥減ay-to-play鈥� mechanics not only makes it less exciting 鈥� it also 鈥渞aises barriers instead of tearing them down,鈥� The Verge noted.

The new updates may be Facebook鈥檚 way of 鈥渢rying to bake the best of everything else into its own,鈥� Mr. Constine wrote.

iOS users who receive the update on their mobile apps will be able to easily swipe to choose filters for uploaded images, with the left half showing the unedited photo and the right half the photo with the filter applied. A wand icon on the bottom left of the uploaded image leads the user to an enhancement tray that includes options for cropping, tagging, text, and stickers.

鈥淵ou can type in text, pinch and drag to re-size and move it, and use a color slider to choose a hue,鈥� Constine noted. 鈥淎nnoyingly, though, you have to write the text and choose the color with your photo blurred in the background, rather than live on the photo itself like with Snapchat.鈥�

Facebook has, of course, said that the new features are simply part of the company鈥檚 effort to foster creativity and imagination among its 1.4 billion users.

鈥淧eople want to be creative when they share experiences with their friends and family on Facebook,鈥� the company said in a statement. 鈥淲e are rolling out a new place to house all of Facebook鈥檚 photo-editing tools, making it even easier to add filters, stickers, or text to your photos.鈥�