San Francisco, Nov 24 (IANS): In yet another attempt to take on photo-sharing platform Snapchat, Facebook is working on a feature similar to Snapchat's "Streaks" which is an addictive game that encourages friends to send messages back and forth for consecutive days.

"For example, a lightning bolt may appear next to the name of a person you've messaged with for at least three days in a row, and a counter will indicate how many consecutive days you've been chatting," Mashable quoted a Facebook representative as saying late on Thursday.

Snapchat's "Streaks" feature has become popular as it appeals to a young audience.

The platform uses the feature to encourage its users to send more snaps, and even warns friends when a "Snapstreak" is about to expire.

If Facebook is preparing to clone this, then don't be surprised to see it show up in Instagram and WhatsApp, according to The Verge.

Meanwhile, researchers last month said that Snapchat can be a useful tool to help overcome apprehension about communicating on a public forum, it can also swing the other way and become addictive.

Snapchat currently has 166 million users globally.