Facebook Developing New Snapchat Competitor, May Launch This Month - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Facebook Developing New Snapchat Competitor, May Launch This Month

by

Facebook is building a new app that will serve as a direct competitor to Snapchat, according to a report from the Financial Times. The project, which is codenamed "Slingshot", will enable users to send each other pictures or short video messages through a simplified, grid-based interface similar to the one seen in messaging app TapTalk. Like Snapchat, photos and videos can only be taken in real time, and messages disappear after a specified time limit.

taptalk_facebook

Facebook's new ephemeral messaging app is said to resemble TapTalk (pictured above)

Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg is said to be personally overseeing the project, with Slingshot's development coming after Facebook attempted to buy Snapchat for $3 billion last year. The news also follows Facebook's removal of its long defunct Facebook Poke app from the App Store earlier this month, which was the company's first answer to Snapchat. Originally launched in December of 2012, Poke allowed users to send ephemeral photos, videos, text messages, and "poke" notifications to their friends.

According to the report, Slingshot could be released as early as this month on mobile platforms. Facebook previously launched its news content and curation app Paper this past February. The app was the first product to come out of Facebook's Creative Labs initiative.

Top Rated Comments

djtech42 Avatar
156 months ago
So Facebook, the biggest data mining company (besides Google, possibly), is creating an app that supposedly allows you to send content "temporarily."

HAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, I couldn't keep a straight face. :D :rolleyes:
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clayj Avatar
156 months ago
Maybe Facebook should consider restoring the Most Recent view to the News Feed -- rather than forcing us to use some convoluted workaround in the More screen -- in the actual Facebook app FIRST.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
joshwenke Avatar
156 months ago
This will fail and Snapchat will dominate. End of story.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
electorate Avatar
156 months ago
It's interesting to see that Facebook is willing to have another poke at Snapchat..
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
156 months ago
Facebook: The Samsung of social media.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Doctor11 Avatar
156 months ago
Facebook: The Samsung of social media.

Yup your dead on. But at least Samsung try's to copy something worth copying...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

japan messages via satellite

Amazon Reportedly in Talks to Buy Apple Satellite Partner Globalstar

Thursday April 2, 2026 4:45 am PDT by
Apple's 20 percent stake in satellite partner Globalstar has become a sticking point in Amazon's reported bid to acquire the company, according to the Financial Times ($). Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar in a deal that would value the satellite telecommunications firm at roughly $9 billion, as part of a broader push to compete with SpaceX's Starlink. But Apple's ownership interest –...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Report: iPhone Memory Costs Set to Quadruple by 2027

Wednesday April 29, 2026 3:14 am PDT by
Memory could account for as much as 45 percent of an iPhone's component costs by 2027, up from around 10 percent today, according to a JPMorgan analysis cited by the Financial Times ($). Apple buys memory for roughly 250 million iPhones a year and has historically been one of the largest customers in the category. But Apple has reportedly now gone from a position where it could set terms to...
app store monthly sub commitment

Apple Introduces App Store Monthly Subscriptions With 12-Month Commitment

Monday April 27, 2026 12:52 pm PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of a new subscription option for App Store developers: monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment. The new option allows developers to offer subscribers discounted pricing typically associated with an annual subscription but paid on a monthly basis to keep payments more affordable. This new payment option allows you to offer subscribers more affordable...