Snapchat, the popular instant messaging app, has reportedly been valued at a whopping $10bn (£6bn) by one of Silicon Valley's most established investment firms, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Buyers.

The app, which allows users to send each other photos which then auto-delete themselves after a few seconds, has grown from two American students' bedroom project to one of the most successful tech start-ups in the world.

And, since reportedly rejecting a $3bn takeover bid from Facebook earlier this year, the figure will certainly come as welcome news to Snapchat's founders.

However, though opposed to a takeover, the company is certainly open to partnerships, and is currently in negotiations with Comedy Central, Spotify, BuzzFeed, CNN, Vice, and others, over the launch of its upcoming Discover section (a new part of the app that will allow users to view media produced by external companies).

But, on October 10, an online leak of supposedly private photos shared by Snapchat users has reduced the confidence of both users and investors in the app.

Photos (including some explicit images) were apparently obtained by hackers able to access thousands Snapsaved (a third party app that allows Snapchat images to be saved) users' accounts. Still, though the images weren't acquired from Snapchat itself, the incident has led to a significant dip in the company's Buzz, as measured by brand index.

Another similar leak could surely be the end of Snapchat (which differs from other image sharing services only in virtue of the supposed privacy afforded by the auto-delete feature), especially if that leak comes from Snapchat itself. And reports that, at least on Android phones, the app is only able to hide images rather than actually delete them may not do much to bolster confidence in the company.

For now, the company is on its way up. But building a company around a single and possibly fragile idea – something only possible in the digital age – could potentially lead to disaster.

Do you think Snapchat is worth $10bn? Let us know.  

Image by Adam Przezdziek