Snap reportedly moved to axe a feature from its messaging platform Snapchat which shows the speed a user is travelling at, following a number of lawsuits in the US alleging it caused car accidents.

US-based non-profit media organisation National Public Radio (NPR) reported Snap confirmed it started removing the in-app filter this week, with the process expected to take a few weeks to reach Snapchat’s entire user base.

The so-called “speed filter”, which was implemented in the app in December 2013, measures the speed of users and enabled them to share this with contacts.

Snap has faced a number of legal challenges over the years alleging the feature was the reason for car accidents caused by some users who employed it to record themselves driving at excessive speeds.

In May, a US federal court reportedly ruled Snap could be liable for implicitly encouraging risky behaviour on the road through the feature.

Commenting on the decision to take down the feature, a Snap representative told NPR there was nothing more important than the safety of its users.