Skip to main content

Snapchat

See All Stories
Snapchat

Snapchat is a social media service primarily based on sharing ephemeral photo and video content. The Venice, California company’s app is extremely popular with millennials, who make up its primary demographic.

Unlike most social photo sharing services, where users are encouraged to build a library of content, Snapchat primarily focuses on content that disappears after set time limits. Users can send snaps directly to friends, or add them to a 24-hour Snapchat Story that all followers can access.

Snapchat is particularly known for its lens feature, which allows users to to add real-time effects to their selfies by means of facial detection. The app is also well-known for its image markup features, such as adding Geostickers — stickers that appear based on the current city of the user — and text to photos and videos.

Criticized for its lack of user-discovery features, some first-time users may find Snapchat difficult to understand, because there are no search or suggestion apparatuses for finding new users to follow.

Recently, the Facebook-owned Instagram added a new Instagram Stories feature to its photo sharing app, which strikingly resembles Snapchat. This is particularly notable when you consider that Facebook, at one time, attempted to purchase Snapchat for 3 billion in cash.

Site default logo image

Illegal drug deals are proliferating over social media with coded emoji and digital cash apps

Police report seeing increasing evidence of drug deals via apps like Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok – and say that this is one of the factors behind soaring drug fatalities though fentanyl-tainted pills.

Emoji are used as code for different drugs, deals struck in private messages, and apps like Venmo and Cash App used for payment …

Expand Expanding Close

Apple tricked into releasing personal data used to sexually extort minors

Low-key photo of woman hiding her face in darkness | Apple tricked into releasing personal data used to sexually extort minors

We learned last month that Apple was tricked into releasing personal data to hackers, after they posed as law enforcement officials with emergency data requests. A follow-up report reveals that some of this data was used to sexually extort minors.

The latest report also sheds light on how the hackers were able to fool Apple and other tech giants, including Facebook, Google, Snap, Twitter, and Discord …

Expand Expanding Close
snapchat

Snapchat ups its AR game with new ‘Custom Landmarkers’ feature

Coming today to Snapchat is a feature, “Custom Landmarkers,” that lets users build augmented reality experiences. In an effort to advance its AR platform, the social media giant is continuously working to enhance the Snapchat experience. Through the Lens Studio, Snapchatters can create landmarks for things like statues and storefronts in their communities. 

Expand Expanding Close

Snapchat takes a cue from Apple’s ‘Find My’ with new Live Location sharing feature

Snapchat is continuing its busy week of announcing new features, this time with its eyes on Apple’s Find My network. Snap has announced a new real-time location sharing feature, which it says is designed to be used as a “buddy system” of sorts. This is an expansion of Snapchat’s incredibly popular Snap Map feature that launched back in 2017.

Expand Expanding Close

Apple’s app privacy policy will cost social media companies almost $10B

Site default logo image

A new report estimates that Apple’s app privacy policy – aka App Tracking Transparency – will cost social media companies almost $10B in the second half of this year.

It says that’s because their unique selling point (USP) was the ability to target particular demographics and interest groups, and that now they can no longer offer that, advertisers are taking their business elsewhere …

Expand Expanding Close
Third-party Snapchat games launching next month, says report

PSA: Snapchat for iOS is currently down, company investigating [U: Fixed]

Update: at 7:32 am PT, Snapchat announced it fixed the problem. Users will probably be able to start logging back to the app.

After major outages with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Snapchat is down for many users across the globe. Users say they can’t access the app, while the company has confirmed the outage and said it is investigating.

Expand Expanding Close