Instagram Mimics Snapchat with New One Tap Photo App 'Bolt'
Snapchat vs Instagram – it is a comparison that you've probably made yourself at one point or another; even though the two apps/services are very different, they are both photo-sharing apps, so the competition is bound to occur.
When Snapchat blew up in popularity with its self-destructing image and video sharing capabilities, Instagram was not content to sit by and watch. Instead, the other popular photo sharing app (Instagram), which Facebook bought for $1 billion two years ago, has released its own version of Snapchat called Bolt.
The concept is simple – it's a tiny app that lets you send photo and videos to friends and family, with the catch that you're able to set them to self destruct after a certain number of seconds. Obviously, this idea caught on quick in a world where secret texting, or “sexting” as it is sometimes called, is the new big thing. The app seemed to be the perfect companion to online dating, and as a result it attracted millions of downloads.
Perfect, Now You Don't Have to Leave Instagram to Use an App Like Snapchat?
Not quite yet. Right now Instagram has only made the new app available to users in New Zealand, South Africa, and Singapore. The company has stated that it needs time to “scale while maintaining a great experience.” Although an exact global release date has not yet been specified, Instagram representatives did say that it would be coming to other countries “soon”.
In the meantime, Snapchat users outside of the aforementioned countries will have no choice but to stick with Snapchat for now, unless you want to try out Facebook's new Slingshot app, which ironically will be competing with Instagram's Bolt - amusing, seeing as how Facebook owns Instagram as well.
Self-Destructing Messages are Worth How Much?
The most ironic part of this whole ordeal is that Facebook previously tried to purchase Snapchat for $3 billion and was shockingly turned down. Apparently, investors at Alibaba are currently in the process of providing a round of funding that would set the value of the app at a whopping $10 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg.
These numbers make some analysts feel as though Instagram might have sold itself short. Then again, $1 billion is a hefty sum for any app development company, so it could also be argued that Snapchat missed the boat on a $3 billion offer from Facebook. Seems like a petty sum when you consider that Facebook paid a whopping $19 billion for WhatsApp.
So Is the App Separate from Instagram?
Right now the app is being called "Instagram's new messenger" but it has also been stated that it has its own name (Bolt) and will be available for iOS or Android as an individual download.
If you search the Google Play Store for "Bolt" you'll come across a phone dialer/address book app by the same name from the company "Bolt Technologies." This could be confusing to some would-be downloaders, who could mistake the two apps for one another. We wonder if this was overlooked by Instagram when they came up with the name "Bolt.".
Bolt vs. Slingshot
So we know that Facebook owns Instagram, and seemingly launched Bolt to compete with apps like Snapchat, but the most interesting part is the timing. Just about a month ago Facebook launched a very similar app called Slingshot, which it has been updating regularly.
The two apps are so similar that they even incorporate some of the same features, like the ability to drag text onto a photo before sending. However, there is one major difference that separates Slingshot from Bolt. Bolt is intended to help you quickly share self-destructing images and videos with one person at a time, whereas Slingshot is moreso focused on sharing with multiple people at the same time.
