Snapchat has turned down an all-cash buyout offer from Facebook for about $3bn, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Representatives from the social network had recently approached Snapchat with the all-cash deal, the publication reported, which would have been its largest ever acquisition ever.
The move came after Facebook reportedly saw a drop in US teen users, even though the overall number of teenagers using the site remained stable.
Analysts blamed the drop on teen-focused social networks including Snapchat, which allow friends to share pictures without them appearing to a wider network of people.
However, Snapchat co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel is not thought to be considering any buyout until at least early 2014, when users would increase enough to justify an even bigger valuation.
Reports also suggested that Snapchat had earlier received an offer of more than $1bn from Facebook, while the latest comes after the social networking firm’s $1bn deal for Instagram last year.
Snapchat’s ‘self-destruct’ messaging technology allows users to share photos or videos which disappear after 10 seconds.
