Facebook just cannot let SnapChat go.

First, Facebook tried to buy SnapChat outright to the tune of $3 billion. The offer was rejected – despite the fact that it was three times what Facebook paid for Instagram, another growing social media brand. Then, Facebook built a “self-destructing” messaging service of its own, calling it “Poke” and offering it as an independent app download on iOS and Android. (Facebook pulled the plug on Poke just last week.)

Now, however, it looks like yet another attempt to compete with SnapChat is on the way. According to a report from CNET, Facebook is in the process of designing a new “ephemeral messaging app” called Slingshot, which could be available for download as early as this month. The concept would be easy to dismiss as yet another SnapChat clone if it were not for one factor: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly personally overseeing development on the project. Since it was Zuckerberg’s vision that built Facebook in the first place, it is entirely possible that he could lend a groundbreaking touch to Slingshot that would bring back the users that Facebook has ceded to SnapChat.

Not that SnapChat has taken a huge bite out of Facebook’s user base. The social media giant is still doing just fine, with a sizable percentage of the world’s population active on its servers. However, studies over the past year or so have shown that Facebook is no longer “cool” among teens and pre-teens, and SnapChat – an app that allows them to send messages and photographs that automatically delete themselves after a certain amount of time – has been one of the main beneficiaries of that youthful power shift.

Precisely what Slingshot would look like – and whether it would tie into Facebook’s existing social media service or not – remains to be seen, though more details will likely be revealed in the coming weeks.