Social media can be a fickle beast. Today's red-hot platform can be tomorrow's AskJeeves.

One of the most popular in 2014 was Snapchat, the paired-down app that lets users send photos and videos that subsequently self-destruct.

As we approach the halfway mark of 2015, we're having a look into how Snapchat is travelling.

It's a snap

Snapchat was first launched by a pair of Stanford University students in July 2011, under the name Picaboo.

A few months later it was renamed Snapchat and today the app has over 100 million users.

Over 80% of these reside in the US.

Selfie starter

Snapchat's users send over 400 million photos every day, many of which are selfies.

Half of male US college students and 77% of female US college students admit sharing selfies on the app.

However only 30% of these snaps are sent to groups, with the majority of Snapchat traffic occurring in direct messages. 

Gender gap

Interestingly, close to 70% of Snapchat users are female.

This is far greater than Facebook or Twitter, and almost approaching Pinterest, which has 80% female users.

Audience breakdown

Snapchat remains popular with the kids.

The majority (71%) of Snapchat users are between 13 – 23 year of age, however the 40+ age bracket is growing.

The Snapchat community is also very active, with 65% of users sending snaps daily.