Instagram Leaks What Looks A Lot Like A Snapchat Clone

Instagram may be following in the footsteps of its parent company , Facebook , by developing a Snapchat clone -- and prematurely leaking it, too.

Last night, some Android users reported seeing a notification in their Instagram feed announcing Bolt, a one tap photo messaging app," The Verge reported Thursday .

The notification, which apparently linked out to a nonexistent Google Play page, was taken down soon thereafter.

A Facebook representative declined to comment, and Instagram did not immediately return a request for comment. But several screenshots of the notification have been posted to Twitter:

Did anyone else get this weird bolt notification on their Instagram earlier? pic.twitter.com/SBrLH7qTTK

areli i (@yo_areli) July 24, 2014

This is the second time in recent months that Facebook has accidentally released a Snapchat copycat ahead of schedule. The company debuted its own version, Slingshot, last month, but not before accidentally uploading it to the App Store several days before its official launch .

Bolt could be Instagrams own Snapchat clone, perhaps because adoption of the Snapchat-like feature Instagram Direct -- which lets people send private photo messages to other users -- is not meeting expectations.

But The Verge wondered whether Bolt could wind up looking more like Taptalk, a new photo chat app thats apparently faster than Snapchat . That would make some sense, considering TechCrunch reported last month that Facebook may be building a Taptalk copycat of its own, a rumor that has not yet been borne out.