Snapchat adds animations for things that aren't your face
You can now use your rear camera to add funky graphics to your snaps.
One of the most fun things you can do with Snapchat is apply a wacky filter to your face and turn yourself into a licking pup or flower princess. But those effects have only worked for the front-facing camera and on faces it detects. The company's latest update for both its iOS and Android apps brings a handful of these cool graphics to the rear-facing cam so those who don't want to take selfies can enjoy adding weird stuff to the world around them.
The new feature, called World Lenses, are activated when you tap anywhere on the screen with the rear camera running. Right now, only seven new options are available, including three Election Day skins and a rainbow-puking clouds one.
You can also use existing face filters with the rear cam. That means you can now turn your buddy into a golden flower princess or a cute deer.
These AR-esque effects could potentially work great on the company's upcoming Spectacles glasses, which let you record round video clips to share on the app. You could turn your head around and discover quirky characters in your environment, such as a cute seal we found by moving a phone around with the new snowflakes lens on. Want to start trying World Lenses out for yourself? Make sure you've got version 9.43.0.0 of the app, and you're good to go.
