Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is preparing to launch a mobile app allowing users to send “expiring” messages that would rival Snapchat, according to a report in AllThingsD.
The mobile app allows users to send messages, which are then quickly destroyed, and could hit the market within the next couple weeks.
Snapchat performs similarly — messages are sent, their contents (including photos and videos) can be viewed for a predetermined amount of time, then are automatically deleted by both sender and receiver, as well as in Snapchat’s database. It has been a breakout hit, with more than 30 million daily active users.
And yes, it looks like Snapchat is being used for “sexting” by teens. Thus, if Facebook enters the category, the company could see a certain amount of scrutiny despite the clear popularity of the service — not that controversy is new for the social networking giant.
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPO Playbook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He is also the author of “How to Create the Next Facebook” and “High-Profit IPO Strategies: Finding Breakout IPOs for Investors and Traders.” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
A long-time follower of the IPO scene, back in 1999 Tom started one of the first sites in the space called WebIPO. It was a place where investors got research as well as access to deals for the dot-com boom. Tom also wrote the top-selling book, Investing in IPOs. In it, he covers all the aspects of analyzing an IPO, such as reading the prospectus, detecting the risk factors and understanding some of the arcane regulations. But don’t worry — if that process is too intimidating for you, thankfully Tom will do the legwork for you right here in the IPO Playbook blog.
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