Snapchat is a photo messaging application set up by Californians Evan Spiegel and Robert (Bobby) Murphy.
Through this social networking app, users can take photos, record videos (max 10 seconds), add text and drawings, and send them as a message to a controlled list of people. These messages are known as "snaps" and "disappear" after a prescribed time.
This dynamic photo application turns three years old this September and it is still to register a profit or provide ad space for commercial enterprises, but it boasts the notoriety of being known as the company that turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg.
This infographic from dpfoc visualizes the short history so far of Snapchat as a way to mark its third birthday. It looks at the background to set-up, the controversies along the way, the numbers involved and examines who actually owns the company.
