Facebook has launched a photo-messaging app one week after accidentally releasing it on Apple’s app store. The photo-messaging app is known as Slingshot. The app’s features include sharing photos and videos with friends and sending “reaction shots”.

It uses an unlocking mechanism, whereby photos received from friends must be unlocked by “slinging” a different photo back to the original sender.

Like Snapchat, all images are deleted once sent and users can scribble or type over their photos.

 “With Slingshot, we wanted to build something where everybody is a creator and nobody is just a spectator. When everyone participates, there’s less pressure, more creativity and even the little things in life can turn into awesome shared experiences,” the app creators said via the social media page

The app is developed by Facebook’s Creative Labs division, which has been tasked with creating new and innovative products.

Slingshot users do not need to have a Facebook account to sign up for the photo-messaging app. They can access the app with their mobile phone number and connect with friends in their phone’s contact list, or they can connect via their Facebook friends’ list.

The Slingshot launch comes as Facebook is trying to fight off threats from other social networking agents, which also contain messaging and photo-sharing tools.

In addition to developing its own apps, Facebook has also been on an acquisition spree.

In 2012 Facebook bought photo-sharing network Instagram for $1bn (£589m).

A year later, it was reported that Snapchat rejected a $3bn bid from Facebook, revealing the social media giant’s apparent continued and serious interest in photo-messaging services.

Previously Facebook attempted and failed to create a successful image-messaging app called Poke, which was recently abandoned and had been described by some as a “blatant copycat app.“

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