Quick Links
Originally, Snapchat was primarily used to send silly or personal pictures to your closest friends. But the platform’s disappearing, camera-focused messages have made the app a main method of communication for some. Whether you like it or not, it’s not uncommon to meet someone, and rather than asking for your number, they’ll ask for your Snap.
How to use Snapchat’s AI to generate or extend images
Every app has AI, and Snapchat is no exception. Here’s how to use Snapchat’s AI to generate images or even extend them.
Snap, the company behindSnapchat, continues to reinvent the app so much that it can be hard to keep up with how Snapchat really works, even if you’re a regular user. To make things easier for you and newbies, Pocket-lint has compiled this guide. By the end of it, you’ll know every facet of the app, from the basics likewhat is Snapchatto new features like Snapchat planets. And when the next update arrives, be sure to check back here.
What is Snapchat and what’s the point, anyway?
Snapchat is a social media app known for its disappearing messages, swipeable Stories, and a plethora of fun camera effects. Snapchat is primarily a mobile app forAndroidandiOSdevices, but some features are alsoavailable from a web browser. Colloquially, the app is often called Snap by its users. Meanwhile, Snapchat’s developer is a public company also called Snap Inc., confusingly. The company itself claims to be a camera company. (As such, it creates other products, including hardware, likeSnapchat Spectacles.)Whichever you choose to call it, Snap is headed by co-founder Evan Spiegel.
Snapchat was created as an antidote to traditional social media
One of Snapchat’s core concepts is that any picture, video, or message – aka Snap – you send by default is made available to the receiver for only a short time before it becomes inaccessible. This temporary or ephemeral nature of the app was originally designed to encourage a more natural flow of interaction.
Snapchat was initially focused on private, person-to-person photo sharing, but you’re able to now use it for a range of tasks, including sending videos, livevideo chatting, messaging, creating caricature-likeBitmoji avatars, and sharing a chronological “story” that’s broadcasted to all your followers. A designated “Discovery” area even showcases short-form content from major publishers like Buzzfeed. Snapchat even lets you store media in a private area.
Other features include the ability to add filters and AR-based lenses to Snaps and show your live location on a world map. But the key thing to realize about Snapchat is it’s all about instant communication through yourphone. Prior to Snapchat, social media was very desktop-based. For instance, you’d post statuses, tweets, and photos, and you’d have a record of all those things online, so your friends could comment on them, and you would all see them forever.
Snapchat changed the way we communicate online. With Snapchat, you can quickly send a photo of yourself with a rainbow-puking AR lens applied to a friend, and after they open it, it’ll disappear forever. Technically, they can screenshot it if they want, sosharing your most private photos isn’t safe. Friends can reply with their own photo or video response, which they can also post to their story for friends and followers to see. There are so many uses for this app. It’s hard not to see its value and why it’s unique.
Because of Snapchat’s impact, some of the network’s features have been imitated on other platforms. A key example is Stories, which are temporary photos or videos shared with friends, a feature that’s been adopted everywhere from Instagram to TikTok.
How to allow or prevent someone from saving your snaps in Snapchat chats
If you’re in a group chat on Snapchat and don’t want people to save the snaps you’re sending them, this is how to stop it.
How does Snapchat work?
As a mobile app, Snapchat is constantly evolving and adding new features and even taking some away (like the beloved Shazam, which is no longer available). While that can make the platform tougher to learn, a few key features of Snapchat have remained more or less the same over the years. Users navigate through the different key features of Snapchat through a series of tabs organizing the different options. If you understand these different tabs, you’ll have a solid grasp on how Snapchat works, so let’s go through them one-by-one.
If you need more details about how to get around the app or do specific things, we encourage you to visitSnapchat’s support hub.
The Snapchat camera
From the moment you open Snapchat, you will see a view of whatever your device’s camera can see. This is the Camera screen. you’re able to access the Camera at any time by tapping the camera icon in the navigation bar at the bottom of the app.
How it looks and what options it shows may change over time, but generally, you will see a capture button at the bottom, with buttons to access your Memories screen, Filters, Snap Map, Chat screen, Stories, and Spotlight. At the top, you might also see options to access your Profile screen, Search screen, and maybe even turn on the flash or switch your camera view to front-facing.
From the camera screen, you can capture Snaps. Then, you can save those Snaps to your device, share them with all your friends as Stories, or send them in a private message.
Snapchat loves touch and swipe gestures, which means it may not be obvious how to use the different camera features the first time that you use the app (or the 100th). Some key controls to use inside the Snapchat camera include:
The Snapchat Map allows you to see where your friends are by displaying their Bitmoji (A Snapchat cartoon avatar) on a map. you’re able to find the Snap Map at any time by clicking on the pin-drop icon in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.
While Snap Map allows you to see what friends are already waiting for you at your favorite hangout, it also opens up some privacy concerns. Thankfully, users can control whether or not they want to appear on the Snap Map. To adjust your location settings, in the Snap Map, click on the settings icon in the corner. If a pop-up appears asking to share your location, then you are already off the map. you may also adjust these privacy options in the Settings menu (tap your profile, then tap the gear icon).
Other key Snap Map features to note:
Shapchat’s chat screen
After the camera, the chat screen is a key part of Snapchat. Tap the chat button or the speech bubble icon in the navigation bar or swipe from left to right to access the Chat screen. From there, you can start a new chat, search chats, see all your active chats, and even go to your Profile screen, capture a snap, quickly switch to stories, and more. Again, these options may change over time. But, the point of this section is to share one-on-one or in a group with friends.
You can start a conversation or tap on an existing thread to message, send a snap, send cash, start a live video chat, send a Bitmoji sticker, and more. You can also long-press on friends’ names to see their Snapcode, Snapstreak, and other options for interacting with them on Snapchat. To edit a friend’s name, or even block or remove them, tap on their conversation thread, then tap the … menu icon, and you’ll see the additional options for managing that friendship.
Stories & Discover
Stories are Snapchat’s way of posting content for all your friends to see, rather than sending one-on-one or group messages. A Story is a photo to short video, in a vertical format, where you can quickly swipe through in a full-screen view. You can choose to share Stories with only your friends, while influencers and businesses can share public Stories for anyone to view.
Can you access Snapchat without the app? How to use Snapchat from a web browser
Snapchat does have a web version, but there are some limitations.
To access Stories, swipe from right to left on the Camera screen to access, or tap the play icon from the navigation bar. Your friend’s Stories, as well as the public accounts that you follow, will appear at the top. Below that, under the Discover section, you’ll see public Stories from accounts that you don’t follow.
Once you click on a Story, you’ll enter full-screen mode to view the content. You don’t have to go back to the previous screen to select another Story. Instead, you can use these gestures:
Spotlight is the home to all things trending on Snapchat. You can access the Spotlight by tapping on the play button in the navigation bar. Spotlight showcases the most popular public Stories on Snapchat. That means that navigating through Spotlight works just like Stories, with the same gesture controls. You can breathe a sigh of relief here there are no other gesture controls to memorize.
Think of it as a TikTok clone, because you’re able to start exploring snaps by swiping up and down. You can even tap on the trending button at the top of the screen to browse Trending Sounds, Lenses, and Topics.
Searching and adjusting settings on Snapchat
While the tabs accessible through swipe gestures and the navigation bar make up the brunt of Snapchat, there are a few other key areas that new Snapchat users will want to take note of.
Search screen
When you open Snapchat and are confronted by the Camera screen, tap the Search button at the top. From there, you can search for other users by their Snapchat name. Verified users will have an emoji appear next to their name. The Search screen that pops up will also recommend related users, show you top stories, and allow you to view other users and their stories by criteria like music, sports, fashion, and animals.
Profile screen
From most screens in Snapchat, you will see a yellow person icon or your Bitmoji in the corner. Tap it to access your Profile screen, where you will find all the settings related to your particular profile, including your friends list, and privacy settings. This is where you will also find a few other key aspects of Snapchat:
What is Snapchat+?
Snapchat+ is a paid subscription service for Snapchat which gives users access to exclusive features for a monthly fee. For $3.99 or £3.99 per month, Snapchat+ users can access various different features that include:
How to access Snapchat+
To get Snapchat+ you just need to access it from the app.
Snapchat+ is currently only available in these regions:
Is Snapchat+ worth it? What you need to know before subscribing
Let’s break down the cost and benefits of Snapchat’s subscription service, Snapchat+, to see if it’s really worth your money every month.
What are Snapchat Planets and what does the order mean?
How to delete your Snapchat account (and what happens to your data)
Are you trying to delete your Snapchat account and can’t figure out how? Let’s walk you through the steps and explain what happens.
Does anyone use Snapchat anymore?
Although Snapchat faces stiff competition from TikTok, it has continued to grow quarter after quarter, and a majority of its users are Gen Z and Gen Alpha. However, it’s not just about youth anymore. In June of 2024,Snap Inc. reporteda major milestone of 850 million monthly active users, demonstrating that the Snapchat platform continues to gain new users. Daily users were up to 432 million, a nine percent increase from the previous year. Snapchat+ subscriptions were up to 11 million.
What does the green dot on Snapchat mean?
A green dot appearing on a friend’s avatar means they were recently active on Snapchat. If you don’t want this activity showing up, there is an option to disable it. Navigate to yourprofile, thenSettings, andActivity Indicator. Toggle the switch off if you don’t want friends to see that green circle.
Q: Snapchat Glossary: What does all the lingo mean?
Many reports and studies have claimed that the bulk of Snapchat’s users are millennials and Gen-Zers. As a result, the app has yielded a number of different unique terms and names for its features, from “snaps” to “story”. If you’re confused by all these terms, you should really read through the glossary below.
Q: What do the chat icons mean in Snapchat?
When you look at your Chat screen, you might see a different arrow or icon next to each conversation thread. These mean different things:
Q: Can you Snapchat on the web?
Snapchat for Web is one of the benefits of a Snapchat+ subscription and it allows you to keep chatting while on your desktop. We have written aguide on Snapchat for Webhere so be sure to head over and read all about it. To use Snapchat for Web justhead over to the siteand log in.
