Rumors have swirled for months that Facebook is working on a true Snapchat clone. And today they've been confirmed, as the company just introduced a new and distinctly Snapchat-like feature to its Messenger app called "Messenger Day."But, before we issue a collective eye roll in Facebook's direction, it's worth giving Messenger Day a closer look — because it could massively up your flirting game.

In a nutshell, Messenger Day does precisely what your Snapchat Story and your Instagram Story do. You can share photos and videos that can be customized with text, stickers and frames. Sounds familiar, right?

But Messenger Day has something that Snapchat and Instagram don't offer you: a significantly easier way to control who sees your story. That's great news for those posting sexy stories and thirst traps.

"The people who see it is kind of up to you. We care a lot about you being in control," Peter Martinazzi, Facebook's director of product management, explained.

"There are two options we present you with. One option is 'everyone except,' and in that case you can decide who’s not allowed to see it. And, the other option is 'custom,' in which case you can choose exactly who you want to see it," Martinazzi continued.

Of course, Snapchat and Instagram already allow you to exclude people from viewing your Stories. And, Snapchat allows you to customize your Story's permanent privacy settings so you can control who views it. But, Messenger Day goes one better by allowing you to easily create custom groups to share your Day with as you're posting it.

There's no need to mess around in your settings every time you want to lay down a thirst trap — you just select from a list of contacts as you're uploading it and voilà.

On a basic level, that means you can choose to share your Day with a custom group of friends, family or colleagues.

But, what you can also do is create a custom group of your crushes -- or just one crush -- to share your Day with. So, if you want to post sultry photos or lay down thirst trapsfor people you're into without sharing them with your friends, family, colleagues, then this is the way to do it.

And, the really great thing is: Your crushes will never know that you're sharing your Day with onlythem. This is great if you're testing the water with a crush or you're too shy or nervous to send them a direct message.And, if you're wondering about sexting, it's worth noting that Facebook's community standards apply on Messenger so no nude photos are allowed.

Make it work

If you're wondering how to go about this next-level flirting, here's how to do it. To upload to your Messenger Day, tap on the camera button in the Messenger app. Snap a sultry selfie or video to get started.

You can add art and effects by tapping the smiley face icon in the top right corner of the photo, and you can add text over your images by tapping the "Aa" icon in the top right corner.

Now for the most important part: Choosing your audience. Hit the arrow in the bottom right corner to add your photo or video to your Day.

Click on the three dots next to "My Day" to select who can view it. Hit "custom" and select from your connections who you want to share your Day with.

Posts added to Messenger Day are shown in a banner at the top of the app's "Home" tab. The photo or video you add to your Day will be viewable for 24 hours. Your settings will apply to everything you post to that day, so if you've selected a limited audience but decide later you want to share something with everyone, you'll have to wait until the next day.

Now all you need to do is decide who you want in your custom group. Please flirt responsibly.