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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,136



Instagram today soft-launched its new Snapchat competitor Bolt in Singapore, South Africa, and New Zealand. First hinted at last week, Bolt is a one tap photo and video messaging app that allows users to send ephemeral images to friends, much like Snapchat.

As described by The Verge, Bolt is a "carbon copy" of Taptalk, another ephemeral messaging app. Users tap on a friend's profile photo to send a photo, or use a long tap to send a video. As with Taptalk, Bolt focuses on sharing with only a few friends -- users can only communicate with one person at a time, while in Snapchat mass snaps can be sent out.

instagrambolt.jpg
Though designed by Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, Bolt is largely a standalone app. It does not require a Facebook log-in, instead letting users add contacts via phone number. As with Snapchat, users can caption images using a text editor.

According to an Instagram spokesperson, Bolt will be expanded to other regions in the near future after being tested in Singapore, New Zealand, and South Africa, three countries chosen for their geographical diversity and tight-knit communities.

Bolt is actually the second Snapchat competitor to launch this year under Facebook's umbrella. In June, the company launched Slingshot, a Snapchat clone with a twist -- after receiving a photo, users must send an image or video in return before being able to view content.

Users in New Zealand, South Africa, and Singapore can download Bolt from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Instagram's Snapchat Competitor 'Bolt' Soft Launches in Three Countries
 

Dekema2

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2012
856
437
WNY or Utica
Why does everyone feel the need to compete with Snapchat. It's the gold standard in instant private picture/video messaging and that just isn't changing anytime soon!
 

stevers

macrumors member
Jun 13, 2009
51
0
Not the company i would trust with private anything.

How many people will be astonished when Facebook starts displaying relevant Valtrex ads?
 

jmh600cbr

macrumors 65816
Feb 14, 2012
1,029
2,494
didn't facebook recently release something similar that is only available in the US?
 

ZacNicholson

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2011
882
1,158
Austin
Facebook owns instagram and their poke app failed. So maybe they're thinking if they say it's an instagram app not a Facebook it'll have more success. Since Facebook is the devil
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,541
6,027
Do people still use Snapchat? I haven't heard about it outside of mentions on MacRumors other than last year.
 

iOSaddict

macrumors regular
Jun 3, 2014
198
0
kinda ironic that a website purportedly dedicated to news about Apple's devices use a nexus phone to demonstrate an app. :rolleyes:
 
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