Facebook is launching a real time news app called Notify

Mumbai: Facebook is planning another addition to its already varied repertoire of offerings, this time attempting to take over news distribution. The social media giant has been working on a new real-time news app, called "Notify", that it expects to launch.

Notify lets users subscribe to various news organisations on Facebook, called "stations", and then send them notifications whenever the media outlet puts out a story.

This is another push in the news direction for Facebook, accompanied by their recent addition of Instant articles, which repackages new stories to load them quickly and smoothly within the Facebook app itself.

Notify's direct competition will, obviously, be Twitter, which prides itself on being the bearer of breaking news.

Twitter, it's worth noting, also launched the "Moments" feature last week; a tab next to notifications that letss a user gather and sort tweets based on sections like technology, entertainment, or sports.

Now, a lot of media houses don't have apps of their own, and rely on social media interactions to drive content.

That being said, Facebook's Notify ties in well with the existing app, especially when people tend to leave notifications on for apps the likes of Twitter, Instagram and, of course, Facebook.

Letting users get their current events fix without needing a separate news-gathering app is sure to be a good public draw, not to mention a god-send for media houses looking to reach their readers in new ways.

Notify is expected to launch by the end of October.