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Facebook is testing a feature that lets people send self-destructing messages.

If users tap an hourglass icon in the Facebook Messenger app, the message will self-delete an hour after it is sent. The testing started on October 13, 2015 at France.

"Disappearing messages gives people another fun option to choose from when they communicate on Messenger," Facebook said in a statement. "We look forward to hearing people's feedback as they give it a try."

This feature is a step to mimic Snapchat which Facebook failed to buy last year. After the rejection, Facebook created its own rivals, Slingshot and Poke which never took off.

Users can also choose the time when the messags will be deleted if they think that one hour is too long. While on Snapchat, the photo will be deleted the moment the recipient viewed it.

The competition is heating up as Snapchat now has 6 billion daily video views while Facebook has 8 billion. With more than 1 billion active monthly users worldwide, Facebook is the leading social media site but the competition should not be taken for granted.

Snapchat is estimated to be already worth $15 billion. But it only has 100 million users which is quite low. Gawker had reported in August that apparently, the company made $3 million, while losing $128 million between January and November of 2014.

Facebook also already acquired the messaging application, Whatsapp. It was bought last year after the rejection with Snapchat. Whatsapp was bought for $19 billion.

Other messaging apps are also trying to make a name through features focused on privacy or strong encryption. A self-destruct feature is designed to make users feel that they are in a real life conversation and not just e-mail or text messaging. Self-deleting messages can mean that messages sent are private but then screenshots can be taken even before the messages are deleted.

Facebook hasn't yet revealed when the feature will be introduced in other countries.