# When was Snapchat created? > Snapchat launched as Picaboo in July 2011 and was renamed that September. A dated timeline from the Stanford dorm to the Memories storage change. **Source:** https://evez.online/guides/when-was-snapchat-created/ **Topic:** Snapchat basics **Published:** 2026-07-25 · **Last checked:** 2026-08-29 **Author:** Mical Robert (Evez) --- ## The short answer July 2011, as Picaboo, built by Stanford students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown. It became Snapchat that September after a trademark dispute, and Snap Inc. listed on the NYSE in 2017. ## Key takeaways - July 2011 as Picaboo; renamed Snapchat in September 2011. - Founded by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown at Stanford. - Reggie Brown was pushed out and later settled a lawsuit over co-founder credit. - Snap Inc. listed on the NYSE in March 2017 at $17 a share. ## The founding Most answers to this give you a year and stop there. The idea came out of a Stanford product design class: Reggie Brown suggested an app for photos that disappeared, Evan Spiegel thought it was a business, and Bobby Murphy built it. The first version shipped for iOS in July 2011 under the name Picaboo. It was renamed Snapchat that September after another company using the Picaboo name objected. The Android version followed roughly a year later, in late 2012, which is a large part of why the app's early culture was so heavily iPhone-shaped. **Snapchat, year by year** | Item | Value | Note | | --- | --- | --- | | Picaboo launches on iOS | 0Jul 2011 | Built by Stanford students Spiegel, Murphy and Brown | | Renamed Snapchat | 1Sep 2011 | After a trademark objection to Picaboo | | Android version ships | 2012 | Roughly a year behind iOS | | Stories introduced | 2013 | 24-hour posts — later copied industry-wide | | Facebook's $3bn offer declined | 2013 | Reported acquisition approach, turned down | | FTC settlement | 2014 | Over claims that messages disappeared forever | | Snapcash launches | 2014 | Peer-to-peer payments with Square; killed in 2018 | | Memories added | 2016 | Saved snaps become a permanent archive | | Renamed Snap Inc. | 2016 | Repositioned as a camera company | | IPO on the NYSE | 9Mar 2017 | Priced at $17 a share | | Spotlight launches | 2020 | Short-form public video | | Snapchat+ subscription | 2022 | First consumer subscription tier | | My AI rolls out | 2023 | Chatbot pinned to the chat list | | Memories storage limits | 132025–26 | Free allowance introduced with paid tiers above it | *Dates for corporate events are from Snap Inc.'s own SEC filings. Product dates reflect public launches and can differ from when a feature reached any individual account.* ## The third founder Reggie Brown is the part of the story most short answers leave out. He was pushed out of the company in 2011, sued in 2013 claiming he had originated the disappearing-photo concept, and settled in 2014. Snap acknowledged his contribution as part of the settlement. This matters for accuracy: pages that name two founders are describing the company as it operated, not as it began. Snap's own IPO prospectus discusses the litigation, which is the most reliable public account of it. > We have been subject to claims relating to the founding of our company. > — Snap Inc., risk factors in its Form S-1 registration statement ## Why Stories mattered The 2013 addition of Stories — posts visible to all your friends for 24 hours — is arguably more consequential than anything else on the timeline. It was copied by Instagram in 2016, then by WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. It also created most of the questions people still have about the app, because a story has different visibility rules from a direct snap. Who can see it, who is notified about what, and where it goes when it expires are covered in the story viewer guide and viewing old stories. ## The company today *Snap Inc. at a glance* | | | | --- | --- | | Founded | July 2011, as Picaboo | | Renamed Snapchat | September 2011 | | Parent company | Snap Inc. (renamed from Snapchat, Inc. in 2016) | | Founders | Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, Reggie Brown | | Headquarters | Santa Monica, California | | Listed | New York Stock Exchange, March 2017, ticker SNAP | | First platform | iOS; Android followed about a year later | > **Editor's note** > Anything about current user numbers or revenue dates quickly, so this guide deliberately does not quote them. Snap reports both quarterly in its SEC filings, which is where a current figure should come from rather than from a secondary source of unknown age. ## What changed most recently The change with the most practical effect on existing users is the most recent one: Memories moving from unlimited free storage to a free allowance with paid tiers above it. For anyone who has been saving to Memories since 2016, that turns a decade of accumulated photos into something with an ongoing condition attached. What it means and how to export everything before deciding is covered in is Snapchat deleting Memories. > **A note on dates in this article** > Corporate dates — incorporation, the rename, the IPO — come from Snap's SEC filings and are firm. Product launch dates are public rollout dates, and features frequently reached individual accounts weeks or months later. ## Frequently asked questions ### When was Snapchat created? It launched in July 2011 under the name Picaboo and was renamed Snapchat in September 2011 after a trademark objection. ### Who created Snapchat? Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown, while students at Stanford. Brown was pushed out in 2011 and settled a lawsuit over co-founder credit in 2014. ### Why was Snapchat originally called Picaboo? That was the founders' original name for the app at its July 2011 launch. Another company using the name objected, and it became Snapchat that September. ### When did Snapchat go public? Snap Inc. listed on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2017 under the ticker SNAP, priced at $17 a share. ## Sources 1. [Snap Inc. Form S-1 registration statement (IPO prospectus)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1564408/000119312517029199/d270216ds1.htm) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) Supports: The company's own account of its founding, the 2017 IPO, and the founder litigation. 2. [Snap Inc. annual reports on Form 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001564408&type=10-K) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR) Supports: Corporate structure and the current filing record for Snap Inc. 3. [In the Matter of Snapchat, Inc. (FTC File No. 132-3078)](https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/132-3078-snapchat-inc-matter) — U.S. Federal Trade Commission Supports: The 2014 FTC settlement entry on the timeline. ## Related guides - https://evez.online/guides/how-to-use-snapchat/ - https://evez.online/guides/is-snapchat-deleting-memories/ - https://evez.online/guides/is-snapchat-encrypted/ --- © Evez. Independent guide; not affiliated with Snap Inc.