Facebook Stories allow users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. One of the fun features of Stories is the ability to add creative effects and augmented reality filters to make your content more engaging.
What are effects on Facebook Stories?
Effects are visual embellishments that can be added to photos and videos in Facebook Stories. They include things like:
- Stickers – decorative images that can be overlaid on top of photos/videos
- Text – colored text boxes for adding captions/messages
- Filters – tint/color adjust photos and videos for stylistic effect
- AR Effects – augmented reality masks, frames, interactive filters powered by Facebook’s Spark AR platform
Effects help capture attention, convey emotion, amplify your message, and overall make Stories more fun and immersive. Many effects are interactive, reacting to user input and facial expressions.
Where do you access effects on Facebook Stories?
When creating a new Story, tap the smiley face icon in the top navigation bar of the Facebook Stories composer. This will open up the effects tray.
The effects tray has multiple tabs:
- Stickers: Browse 100s of stickers sorted into categories like Greetings, Activities, Weather, etc. Tap a sticker to add it.
- Text: Select font style, color, and add text boxes to your Story.
- Filters: Scroll through filters that tint/colorize the Story with different hues and tones.
- AR Effects: Browse AR masks, frames, and interactive filters to overlay on your face/surroundings.
- Colors: Adjust color saturation, brightness, contrast.
- Tools: Editing tools like marker, eraser, crop, etc.
You can tap back and forth between the effects tray and your Story to view and add effects. Added effects can be edited, resized, rotated, or removed at any time.
How do you add stickers to Facebook Stories?
To add a sticker to a Facebook Story:
- Tap the stickers tab in the effects tray.
- Browse sticker categories like Greetings, Birthdays, Activities, etc.
- Tap a sticker to preview it.
- Adjust sticker size by pinching fingers.
- Position sticker on your Story.
- Tap Done after placing the sticker.
You can layer multiple stickers. Drag stickers around to reposition them. Remove stickers by tapping and holding, then hitting the trash can icon.
How do you add text to Facebook Stories?
Adding animated text to Stories is easy:
- Tap the text tab in the effects tray.
- Select your desired text style and color.
- Tap the screen where you want the text to appear.
- Type out your text in the box that pops up.
- Pinch fingers to adjust text size.
- Drag text box around to position it.
- Tap Done after placing the text.
You can add multiple text boxes with different styles/colors. Reposition or delete text boxes anytime.
How do Facebook Story filters work?
Filters alter the overall appearance of your Story’s photo/video content. To use filters:
- Tap the filters tab in the effects tray.
- Preview filter thumbnails and select your desired filter.
- Adjust filter intensity with the slider.
- Tap Done to apply filter to Story.
Filters will remain applied as you continue adding to your Story. You can change or remove filters at any time.
What are AR effects on Facebook Stories?
AR effects take Stories to the next level by leveraging augmented reality. AR effects include:
- Face Filters: Animated masks and facial effects that track facial movements.
- World Effects: Visual effects that interact with and respond to your real-world surroundings.
- Interactive Effects: Overlays that react to user gestures and audio.
To access AR effects:
- Tap the AR effects tab in the effects tray.
- Browse different categories of effects.
- Tap an effect to preview it.
- Point device camera at your face or environment to try the effect.
- Tap record to capture effect and add it to your Story.
AR requires no extra equipment – just use your smartphone camera. Effects track your motions and environment, unlocking all sorts of creative possibilities!
How do you save effects on Facebook Stories?
As you apply filters, text, and stickers to your Story, they will be saved automatically. You do not need to manually save edits.
When adding AR effects, tap the record button to capture the effect and add it to your Story before switching to another effect.
The effects tray remembers your recently used colors, text styles, and filters for quick access later. Favorited stickers and AR effects also persist in your tray.
To save an effect for future use:
- Press and hold an effect’s thumbnail in the effects tray.
- Tap the bookmark icon to favorite it.
- Favorited effects will be available in the tray on your next Story.
Does Facebook have exclusive Story effects?
Yes, Facebook offers some effects that are exclusive to their Stories feature. These include:
- Holiday/event-themed effects timed with special calendars.
- Sponsored effects created in partnership with brands.
- Original effects produced by Facebook’s Spark AR creator community.
You can identify exclusive effects by the “Only in Stories” tag displayed on their thumbnails in the effects tray. Tap to preview them.
Can you create custom effects for Facebook Stories?
Yes! You can make your own custom effects for Facebook Stories using Spark AR Studio. Some things you can create include:
- AR Masks and Face Filters
- AR Objects that interact with real world surfaces
- Interactive 2D/3D Effects
- Segmentation Effects
- Animated Stickers
Spark AR Studio is free desktop software for Windows and Mac. No prior experience is required. Their tutorials, templates, and community support help guide you through the AR creation process.
Once you publish effects through Spark AR, they will be reviewable for inclusion in Facebook’s Effect Gallery for all users worldwide!
What are best practices for using effects in Stories?
When adding effects to your Facebook Stories, keep these tips in mind:
- Use effects sparingly. 1-2 per Story is usually sufficient.
- Ensure text legible and fonts consistent.
- Align stickers thoughtfully and avoid covering main subjects.
- Apply filters subtly. Avoid oversaturation.
- Position AR effects properly and record static shots.
- Review Stories before sharing to perfect timing/placement of effects.
Effects should complement and enhance your Story rather than overwhelm it. Let viewers focus on your main narrative and purpose.
Do effects use up extra data or storage?
Filters and text require almost no additional data or storage space.
Basic stickers have a negligible impact on data usage and storage. More complex stickers and AR effects require downloading some additional assets which count toward your device storage quota and data plan usage.
In most cases, the effects data footprint is small – likely less than 10MB per Story on average. But frequent complex effect usage can lead to hundreds of megabytes over time.
To minimize mobile data and storage usage when adding effects:
- Connect to WiFi when previewing/adding effects.
- Avoid hundreds of stickers per Story.
- Limit use of AR effects per Story.
- Delete old Stories to clear cached effect data.
Do I need a Facebook business account to use effects?
No, effects are available for all Facebook users – no business account required. Both personal profiles and business pages can use effects in Stories.
However, businesses may want to create branded AR effects with Spark AR Studio to promote their products/services to customers in an engaging way.
Can Facebook Story effects be shared or saved?
Unfortunately the effects themselves cannot be directly shared or saved from someone else’s Story. However, there are couple options:
- Screen record the Story while the effect is playing to capture a video of it.
- Ask the creator for download links to effects made with Spark AR Studio.
- Favorite an effect while viewing a friend’s Story. It will be saved to your effects tray.
Keep in mind downloaded effects may not work as expected outside the Stories context they were designed for.
Conclusion
Facebook Stories effects offer a fun way to creatively express yourself and engage your audience. Take advantage of stickers, text, filters, and AR to enhance your visual storytelling. Learn the basics of the effects creation process with Spark AR Studio to make customized effects. Apply effects thoughtfully and strategically to each Story you share on Facebook.