Facebook definitely has a Snapchat competitor in the works: called Slingshot, the upcoming app accidentally made a brief debut on the App Store.

Snapchat has steadily gained more adopters since its debut and moved on to become one of the most popular messaging apps currently on the market. The ephemeral messaging service allows users to send self-destructive messages, and Facebook now plans to launch a similar app called Slingshot.

Facebook's upcoming Slingshot app would similarly allow users to send disappearing photo and video messages, draw or write on images, and so on. With Slingshot, however, the recipient would have to send their own message in order to view what you sent.

After writing a reply and opening a message, users will also be able to share their reaction as a response to the "sling" they received. Just like with Snapchat, Slingshot promises to delete messages afterwards, but it remains unclear at this point just how long individual messages will be available or whether there is a default time limit.

Facebook's new Slingshot app made its debut on the App Store earlier than scheduled, apparently by accident, and it was pulled in the meantime. Facebook reckoned that the app was prematurely rolled out by mistake on Monday, June 9, but did not say when the official rollout it set to occur.

"Earlier today, we accidentally released a version of Slingshot, a new app we're working on," a Facebook spokesperson told Mashable. "With Slingshot, you'll be able to share everyday moments with lots of people at once. It'll be ready soon and we're excited for you to try it out."

Currently it remains unknown just when Slingshot will make its official debut and in which regions it will be available. According to TechCrunch, before it was pulled Slingshot was available to users in Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand, but not the U.S.

While the version of the app that launched prematurely was only available in certain regions, the new Slingshot app is expected to make a wide debut worldwide and give Snapchat a run for its money. We'll keep you up to date as soon as Facebook provides more information in this regards, so stay tuned.