Facebook launches new app called Slingshot

SOCIAL media giant Facebook has launched a new app to help users share photos and videos.

Facebook's new app called Slingshot helps users share photos and videos. Picture: Getty

Slingshot, the second app from Facebook’s Creative Labs, allows people to share their everyday moments with lots of others at once.

But there is a catch - people can only see what has been shared with them if they “sling” something back in return, such as their reaction to a photo or video. They can, however, simply “swipe” the shot away.

Slingshot has been designed so that “everybody is a creator and nobody is just a spectator”, and so that “when everyone participates, there’s less pressure, more creativity and even the little things in life can turn into awesome shared experiences”, the team behind the app said in a blog on the Facebook website.

They wrote: “Photos and videos that don’t stick around forever allow for sharing that’s more expressive, raw and spontaneous. We can connect the same way we like to live: in the moment.”

They added: “With Slingshot, we saw an opportunity to create something new and different: a space where you can share everyday moments with lots of people at once.”

The app is available initially in America on iPhone (iOS7) and Android (Jelly Bean and KitKat).