Snap, the maker of the disappearing-photo app Snapchat, filed publicly for an initial offering, the first US social-media company to do so since Twitter more than three years ago.

The company filed with an initial size of $US3 billion ($3.9 billion), a placeholder amount used to calculate fees that may change. Snap plans to raise as much as $US4 billion in the IPO, people familiar with the matter have said, for a market value of as much as $US25 billion.

The company posted a net loss of $US515 million in 2016, on revenue of $US404 million, according to the prospectus filed on Thursday. That compares with a loss of $US382 million in 2015, on revenue of $US59 million.

Snapchat has more than 158 million daily active users, the prospectus shows. Quarterly average revenue per user on a global basis climbed to $US1.05 in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared with US31¢ in the year-earlier period.

Last year, Snapchat filed confidentially for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. The Jobs Act is a venue for companies with revenue of less than $US1 billion to file privately and work out details with the SEC away from the public eye.

The IPO prospectus is the first opportunity for outsiders to get a closer look into a company that's known for, among other things, its culture of secrecy. The next step will be the roadshow, in which chief executive Evan Spiegel and his management team will endeavour to explain the company's strategy and prospects to potential investors.