The Verge has said in a report that Instagram is likely to have mistakenly leaked the existence of a new Snapchat competitor dubbed as Bolt, which appeared on a new banner ad inside the current Instagram for Android app. Twitter user Richard Groves snapped a screenshot reading “Introducing Bolt,” promising “one tap photo messaging” and offering a link to download the free app via the Google Play Store. The link was taking the users nowhere and the banner ad vanished 15 minutes later. But by that time several late night users spotted the same message lurking in their own Instagram installations. However, a report by TechCrunch has suggested that the app could be a fictional title instead. Sarah Perez has been quoted saying that “It’s worth pointing out that there’s nothing in this leak that specifically confirms that Bolt is a forthcoming Instagram-owned property”, hypothesizing “Bolt” could simply be a placeholder for parent company Facebook’s lucrative mobile app install ads. However, there has been no clarity yet by the officials of Instagram on the issue.
