Facebook Slingshot Takes Aim at Snapchat
After Snapchat turned down its $3 billion purchase offer, Facebook said it would produce a clone of the popular ephemeral messaging app. True to its word, Mark Zuckerberg's company has created a new self-destructing messaging platform called Slingshot.
Available for Android and iOS, Slingshot lets users send photos and short videos that they can edit with text and or draw on. The catch is that in order for anyone to see your photos or videos, they have to send, or sling, their own back in return. If they don't, your message will remain too pixilated for them to see.
MORE: Snapchat Admits Its Photos Don't 'Disappear Forever'
When you're done looking at your friend's message, simply swipe it away and it'll disappear forever. Unlike Snapchat, however, you won't receive any notifications if someone takes a screenshot of your photo or video, so you might want to keep your messages on the PG side of things. There's also no way to force you to delete unlocked shots.
If nothing else, Facebook should get credit for innovating on the ephemeral messaging service with its unique functionality and styling. But, if Facebook is hoping for Slingshot to catch on like Snapchat, the company may not want to hold its breath.
Snapchat is one of the most popular messaging apps around, especially with younger users. In fact, when Snapchat released its latest update, teachers reported that their students went wild trying to download it.
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