Pinterest shares fall after Facebook quietly launches clone app ‘Hobbi’

Benjamin "Ben" Silbermann, co-founder and chief executive officer of Pinterest Inc. (Photo: Patrick T. Fallon)


Social media giant Facebook has quietly released a new app like Pinterest called ‘Hobbi’, a photo and video sharing app designed for documenting users’ hobbies.

Pinterest shares briefly slid more than 4% in after-hours trading on Thursday after news broke that Facebook has released a competing app.

The app is available for iPhone users and it was created by New Product Experimentation (NPE) a team within Facebook tasked with experimenting new products and services, CNET reported on Thursday.

“Organize your photos into visual collections and see the progress you’re making over time,” reads the app’s description.

According to its page in the App Store, in this photo-sharing app one can capture and organise their creative process like cooking, baking, arts and crafts, fitness or home decor.

Hobbi was developed by Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team, a unit launched by the company in July to develop consumer-focused apps.

In a statement to CNBC, a spokesperson for Pinterest said the company remains “focused on building a visual discovery engine.”

The app is currently available in 84 countries, including the US, Australia as well as Canada, according to Sensor Tower and has fewer than 5,000 downloads.

Facebook so far has launched just a handful of NPE Team-branded apps. Last year, it launched a chat app for making friends called Bump and a social music app Aux.

Additionally, a meme editor called Whale, has already shut down.

(With input from agencies)