The latest product to join Facebook’s standalone apps portfolio is Moments, which enables users to group and share photos privately.

“Moments groups photos on your phone based on when they were taken and, using facial recognition technology, which friends are in them. You can then privately sync those photos quickly and easily with specific friends, and they can choose to sync their photos with you as well,” explained product manager Will Ruben on the Facebook blog.

The app is a solution to events where photos are taken by several people: “You all want a quick way to share your photos with the friends who are in them, and get photos that you’re in back,” wrote Ruben.

The app has launched in the US on iOS and Android, and will be rolling out to more countries over time.

However, according to The Register, the app may have trouble launching in Europe as Facebook’s facial recognition software, a key component of the new app, has been blocked in the EU, following concerns by watchdogs.

Capitalising on the popularity of picture-taking with mobile devices, Google recently launched an app that lets users store “unlimited, high-quality photos and videos for free”.