Whoops. After failing to successfully acquire Snapchat for a few billion in cash and stock, Facebook decided to nut-up and build its own competitor service. Unfortunately for the social network of record, it launched said competitor early completely by accident. Here’s what it does.
It’s called Slingshot, and it promises the ability to take and share photos complete with captions and edits for your friends.
It differs from Snapchat in a few ways, however. For example, you can lock a message as you send it. That means before you can unlock a message to you, you’ll have to send one back to keep the chain going. Fun!
There’s also a reaction button so you can comment on the photo without saying a damn thing. It’s the ‘Like’ button on steroids.
The app was mistakenly set live in several markets overnight before it was pulled.
Facebook said in a statement:
Earlier today, we accidentally released a version of Slingshot, a new app we’re working on. With Slingshot, you’ll be able to share everyday moments with lots of people at once. It’ll be ready soon and we’re excited for you to try it out.
Fairly standard spin.
The app has since been pulled, but at least we know what it can do now. Sadly for all you photo-swappers out there, there’s no news on when we’ll be able to get it for ourselves.