Explicit images initially believed to have been sent through Snapchat were reportedly put online, with threats from hackers to upload more. But according to Snapchat, users who had been accessing the service via a third-party app, and not the official Snapchat app, had their images intercepted. Snapchat responded to reports, Snapchat blamed unauthorized third-party apps for the security breach.

"Snapchat’s servers were never breached and were not the source of these leaks," a spokeswoman for Snapchat said. "Snapchatters were victimized by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our users’ security."

The company added that Snapchat users has used third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that the company prohibits in its Terms of Use.

"We vigilantly monitor the App Store and Google Play for illegal third-party apps and have succeeded in getting many of these removed."

Snapchat is a messaging app that allows the sharing of videos and images that "disappear" after a short period of time, usually just a few seconds.

The "leaked" images were uploaded to the internet with a download link shared on a message board on Thursday night, according to reports.