Last month we reported that Facebook was said to be working on photo and video messaging app that will be a direct competitor to the wildly popular app Snapchat. Nothing had been confirmed though, until today when Facebook officially announced the launch of the new app.
Today, we’re excited to introduce the second app from Facebook Creative Labs: Slingshot.Slingshot lets you quickly share everyday moments with lots of people at once.
Facebook’s announcement takes you to a post on Slingshot’s blog, which provides more details about how the app works.
Initial speculation indicated that the app would allow users to send each other short video messages that would automatically delete after a short period of time, similar to what Snapchat lets users do with photo messages.
However, there is more to it than that. Slingshot will allow users to send temporary photo and video messages to each other, but there’s a catch:
To get started on Slingshot, shoot a photo or video… add some text and color, then sling it to a bunch of friends. Here’s the deal: friends won’t be able to see your shot until they sling something back to you. They can then reply with a reaction—or simply swipe your shot away.
Sounds interesting, I like how it encourages back and forth communication. Don’t you hate when you send someone an awesome shot on Snapchat and they never send you anything back in return?
Slingshot is available today starting in the US on iPhone (iOS7) and Android (Jelly Bean and KitKat). Get it here.
