Snapchat

Snapchat is a photo-sharing application developed by two students from Stanford University.

Users can use this application to take pictures, videos, add text and images. Users of Snapchat are called snubs.

One of its primary functions of Snapchat is that all the photos have a life span of 1 to 10 seconds. All these pictures will be automatically destroyed after users have sent them to their friends at the preset time. Meanwhile, users will be noticed if the receiver is trying to capture the picture during this period. This application provides a safe platform for young people since there is no sign left for that information they have sent to each other.

September 1, 2022: Snapchat rolled out "Dual Camera"

Snapchat has rolled out a new "Dual Camera" feature that allows users to take photos and videos using the front and back cameras on their phone simultaneously. As explained by Snapchat, users can select the option by opening the camera screen and tapping on the Dual Camera icon, which looks like two cameras layered over one another and can be found on the right side of the toolbar.

The Dual Camera feature also allows users to add fun Snapchat filters, music, stickers and lenses according to the user's taste and mood. The feature will initially be available only on iOS, but is expected to land on Android in the coming months.

August 19, 2022: New Features to Snapchat+ Subscription Service

Snapchat added a series of new features to the Snapchat+ subscription service. Now users can enjoy more exclusive features, including:

· Priority Story Replies

· Post View emojis

· Bitmoji backgrounds

· New app icons

July 19, 2022: Web Version is Coming Up Soon

Snapchat sets about launching a desktop web app, which can be used to send messages and call friends from a desktop or laptop computer. Apart from this, some important widgets like lenses and filters for videos are also coming soon. It is worth noting that only people who pay for Snapchat+ subscription service will be able to use Web Snapchat right now.

June 3, 2022: Restaurant Recommendations In The Snap Map

Snapchat is partnering with restaurant review website The Infatuation to enable users to find local eats on the Snap Map. Users in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, D.C and London can find the new Layer in the upper-right corner of the Map and select The Infatuation to find restaurants near them. Once you find a restaurant that you like, you can share it with your friends through chat or add it to your favorites to save for later and come back to it when you’re ready to make plans.

April 15, 2022: Dynamic Stories

Snapchat is rolling out a new feature that allows news publishers and newsrooms to automatically generate Stories based on articles they publish online. With this new feature, Snapchatters can stay up-to-date on the latest breaking news in the world. The new feature can be accessed on the Discover feed, and the stories will be automatically updated in real-time.

April 11, 2022: YouTube Link Stickers

Snapchat is partnering with Youtube to launch a new feature that allows users to share YouTube videos as a sticker in their snap. With this new feature, users can simply open any YouTube video they want, tap the “Share” button and choose the Snapchat icon to share the video. They can also create an original Snap with creative layers and automated YouTube stickers that will take viewers directly to the video in their YouTube app or default mobile browser.

April 8, 2022: New sign language lens

Snapchat is partnering with Sign All to launch a new lens that helps users to learn the American Sign Language Alphabet. With the help of augmented reality technology, the new lens teaches users to fingerspell their name using individual letters. Users can also practice the ASL alphabet and play games to test their ASL skills.

March 28, 2022: New augmented reality lens

Snapchat is partnering with Cirque du Soleil and Verizon to roll out a new augmented reality lens that allows users to watch the renowned “O” performance right from their phone. With the help of motion capture technology and 5G Ultra Wideband, snapchatters around the U.S will be able to watch the exciting aquatic live show “O” performance which is currently playing at Bellagio in Las Vegas.

March 22, 2022: The Ban of Anonymous Messaging From Third-Party Apps

To limit bullying and harassment as well as to create a safer internet environment on its platform, Snapchat has banned anonymous messaging from third-party apps. People can only be messaged by users whose identities you can see.

March 18, 2022: Custom landmarkers

Snapchat is launching a new feature that allows users to build augmented reality experiences for local landmarks. Named “custom landmarkers”, this new tool enables individuals and businesses to create their own AR effects linked to any local places, including statues, storefronts and more. The tool can be accessed through physical Snapcodes shown at the landmark or on a Lens creator’s profile.

March 17, 2022: New Holi-themed Features

With the arrival of the festival of Holi, Snapchat will be adding some special Holi themed AR Lenses, Gulaal Bitmoji, curated Holi playlists, Holi stickers, Holi Bitmojis and so on. Users will be able to add specific location-based filters to photos from across 500 different locations and 32 different cities in India. In the meantime, Snapchat has also introduced ‘Holi Beard’ lens and a lens to wish Holi in different languages that users can engage with and celebrate. These Lenses will be available on Snapchat, Discover, Spotlight platform, Samsung Fun Mode and Google Camera Go. Snapchatters will be able to activate these holiday special Lenses on Snap Maps directly.

March 7, 2022: Snapchat Removes “Heatmap” in Ukraine

The feature “heatmap” of Snapchat is used to indicate areas where Snapchat users are publicly sharing a lot of content. So out of safety precaution, Snapchat has temporarily disabled this feature in Ukraine and has been working to make Snap Map, a location-based feature to which people can submit photos and videos they want to make publicly available, safer for users in Ukraine.

Timeline

In April 2011, Evan Spiegel presented the final project of Snapchat in the produce design course at Stanford University. And finally in September 2011, Snapchat went online formaly.

In January 2012, Snapchat get 0.48 million dollars investment from Lightspeed Venture Partners. In May 2012, there are 25 snapshot pictures sent on Snapchat every one second. At the end of the same year, there are more than 20 million photos sent on Snapchat for iOS platform.

In February 2014, Snapchat received about 13.5 million dollars in the A round investment. And in the second half of the year, Snapchat received about 80 million dollars in the B round investment.

At the end of 2014, Snapchat cooperated with Square to released a new service to help users transfer money to make investment.

The audience users of Snapchat are mainly the youth between 13 to 25 years old. The most attractive function of Snapchat is that it can be used privately, that is, it can protect your privacy. The bigger market it faces is the product that is abundant in American market: instant communication. The most attractive thing of Snapchat is not that the pictures can be destroyed in a particular period but that it can send the images at a faster speed than other share tools.

Snapchat can make everyone communicate freely, even with the strangers. You don't need to worry about the information will be leaked. Because it can protect your privacy information. Thus, it will decrease the burden for people to chat with strangers. The ambition of creating Snapchat as a social communication platform gradually shows at some new functions, such as the function of Stories. 

It is similar to Facebook information flow. It indicates that users not only can share the photos to themselves, but also they can share their Stories to their friends. Users' friends can scan their Stories. And also the content of Stories will disappear after 24 hours.