Snapchat

Snapchat’s Features And Popularity

In its earliest iterations, Snapchat was an app that was designed around private, user-to-user photo and short video sharing.

This has changed in recent years, and its current version allows users to send longer videos, send or receive live calls and video chats, and create avatars that you can customize.

Most of these features came as a result of its increasing popularity. Its real niche in the market was the privacy features not offered by other social networks or apps, which led to it becoming the preferred choice for private messaging.

However, as it became more popular, the app absorbed and developed features that are more in line with other social media networks.

Another unique feature of Snapchat is its wide variety of filters and AR-based lenses that users can add to their photos and videos.

Snapchat is one of the industry leaders in fun filters that can completely change the look of photos (particularly selfies) and has inspired many other social media networks to do the same.

It’s also worth noting that Snapchat was created as a turning point in social media—as before its release and popularity social media was primarily desktop/browser-led.

Snapchat paved the way for more mobile-based social media networks to appear.

Some of its privacy features were adopted by other popular social media networks, for example, Instagram added ‘disappearing’ pictures into their messaging feature.

How To Use Snapchat

Downloading Snapchat on your phone is simple—simply navigate to the IOS or Google Play store and type its name into the search bar. From here, tap download and you’ll find it on your phone in a matter of minutes.

After this, you’ll need to make an account, which will be able to link to your contacts on your phone if you desire.

You’ll be prompted to make a cool little avatar, and then you’ll be able to add and message friends as you desire.

So what if you want to download Snapchat but don’t want to use it on a mobile device? If this is the case then you should know that there is a browser version available for you to use.

It’s only usable in Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Sorry Safari, Firefox, or Opera users), but it’s very easy to access if you use one of these browsers.

All you’ll need to do is follow this link here and follow the instructions to sign in.

From here, you’ll be able to use a wide variety of the application’s different features, but mostly those revolving around instant messaging.

You won’t be able to play around with filters etc because those are made specifically for mobile devices.

Snapchat VS Other Apps

Even though Snapchat has a big unique selling point in its privacy features, other social media apps have taken inspiration from its success and it now has a few key rivals.

One of the main competitors that it shares some similarities with is Instagram—or rather, the instant messaging part of Instagram.

Instagram allows users to DM (direct message) other users, and use a wide variety of different messaging features just like Snapchat.

With Instagram, you can call and video call, take photos and change them with a variety of filters, and also send stickers, emojis, and voice notes.

This makes Instagram’s messenger very similar to Snapchat, and you can see how much Snapchat had an effect on their design process.

Another app that you can compare with Snapchat is WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is another mobile-based messaging app that allows you to chat with friends and gives you a lot of different options for content sharing.

The main difference is that WhatsApp doesn’t allow you to send ‘disappearing’ or timed messages. Unless you delete them, almost everything in WhatsApp can be stored and accessed at any time.

Snapchat Pros And Cons

There are a few reasons why you might want to use Snapchat over other apps.

Although many of its features have become industry standard, it’s still fairly unique in the social media space and we’re going to explore s some of them below.

Pros

• User Base: Although Snapchat has a smaller user base than other social media platforms, it still boasts an incredible 464.8 million active monthly users. This means that there’s a good chance your friends and family are already using this app.
• Filter Selection: Snapchat has the largest selection of filters on any social media platform. They are constantly being added and changed, so you’ll always have something new and fun to play with.
• Privacy: Snapchat is unique in that it sends you alerts if somebody screenshots an image that you’ve sent them. This can be very important for privacy and is something that other social media tools do not offer.

Cons

• Message Archiving: because Snapchat is all about privacy, you won’t be able to easily store conversations and images. This can be a downside if you are engaging in important conversations that you might want to save. If this is a feature you’re looking for, then it would be better to opt for an app like WhatsApp.

Is Snapchat Worth The Download?

Although many of its original unique features have been absorbed by some of the other social media giants, Snapchat is still a fun and very private social media app that is essential to many people around the world.

With a huge active monthly user base, there’s not much chance that it will die out anytime soon. We would recommend this app to anybody looking for a private message with a lot of fun filters to play around with.

We hope that this short guide has helped you to understand Snapchat and that you’re now considering giving it a go!