Snapchat was called Picaboo before it adopted its current name in 2011.
The app began as a project by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown while they were students at Stanford University. It focused on disappearing photo messages, a concept that contrasted with social networks built around permanent profiles and public posts.
The first version launched as Picaboo in July 2011. The name changed to Snapchat in September 2011, helping distinguish the service from an existing photobook company that objected to the original name.
People sometimes confuse Snapchat’s original name with later product names such as Stories or Discover. Those are features or content areas, not earlier names for the company. Snapchat later expanded beyond disappearing photos into messaging, video, augmented-reality lenses, and publisher content.