Bolt: Instagram’s answer to Snapchat is here (but only in three countries)

This week Instagram has lifted the lid on its new photo and video messaging app, called Bolt, which is all about ‘wicked fast photo messaging’ and looks set to take on photo rival Snapchat. The catch? For now it’s only available in three countries: Singapore, South Africa and New Zealand.

According to The Next Web, the app has only just popped up in the New Zealand app store, but will be available in those select countries for both Android and iOS users. According to sources, Instagram and Facebook plan on giving Bolt a ‘trial run’ in these three countries before a bigger launch across UK and US markets. A spokesperson told the tech blog:

‘We decided to start small with Bolt, in just a handful of countries, to make sure we can scale while maintaining a great experience. We expect to roll it out more widely soon.’

For those who missed Instagram’s ‘accidental’ early unveiling of the app last week, Bolt is similar to Snapchat. It allows users to sign up with their phone number and add up to 20 of their contacts to the app. They can then tap on a friend’s face and send them a photo. It’s admittedly very easy, but do Instagram users REALLY need another way to share their photos? And aren’t there already a whole bunch of apps doing the one-tap-photo thing already? We’re not convinced.