stickers
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It's now safe to skin your Nintendo Switch
When it became clear that vinyl wraps and other stickers were damaging the Switch, you could practically hear the wailing from console customizers everywhere. How were you supposed to add a personal touch to Nintendo's machine without giving it a permanent paint scheme? At last, there's light at the end of the tunnel. Dbrand is now offering Switch skins that it promises are "100% safe" for the system's plastic housing. The company said it spent a year working with 3M to create a "unique" adhesive that won't wreck the design.
Snapchat reinstates Giphy stickers following removal of racist GIFs
Last month, both Snapchat and Instagram pulled Giphy stickers from their apps after users discovered a racist GIF with a slur. At the time, Giphy said that it had removed the GIF in question and fixed the bug that let it through. It also said it would be reviewing all of its GIF stickers manually. Last week, Instagram reinstated Giphy stickers and now, so has Snapchat.
Instagram restores Giphy stickers now that racist GIFs are gone
Instagram and Snapchat completely removed Giphy stickers from their apps after finding racist GIFs, but the feature is now ready to come back... on Instagram, that is. The photo-centric social network has restored stickers after Giphy said it "made specific changes to our [moderation] process" to prevent a repeat incident. Snapchat hadn't made a similar move as of this writing (it reiterated its earlier position in a statement to TechCrunch), but it may be just a matter of time if the company is satisfied with Giphy's response.
Snapchat adds Giphy's GIF stickers to liven up your Stories
Usually you see Instagram borrowing features from Snapchat, but the reverse is true this time around. Snapchat has added GIF stickers from Giphy's library to its Android and iOS apps, giving you a considerably wider selection to choose from when crafting your Stories -- just like Instagram did a few weeks ago. The stickers are singled out in the app when you search for them, so you don't have to wade through regular Snap-created stickers if you're looking for some variety. There are some interface tweaks coming along for the ride, too.
Instagram Stories harness the power of Giphy for animated stickers
You don't need to use another app to put GIF stickers all over your pictures before uploading them to Instagram Stories anymore. Next time you add a photo or a video to your story, you'll find a new GIF option within the usual sticker menu accessible via the icon on the top left portion of the screen. You can look through all the animated stickers available -- powered by Giphy, of course -- or you can search for specific categories.
Google's Pixel AR stickers are available starting today
During Google's Pixel 2 event in October, the company teased its upcoming AR stickers and starting today, Pixel users can actually get their hands on them. Those with Pixel phones running Android 8.1 Oreo will have access to AR stickers like Foodmoji, 3D text and celebratory balloons and champagne just in time for the holidays. And ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Pixel users can also get a pack of Star Wars-themed AR stickers.
Visa swaps payment cards for NFC gloves at the Winter Olympics
Visa is very fond of showing off its tap-to-pay technology at the Olympics, and that's truer than ever with the 2018 Winter Olympics around the corner. The payment giant is selling a trio of NFC-equipped gadgets to help you shop at the PyeongChang games, most notably a set of winter gloves. Yes, you can pay for that souvenir without freezing your hands as you reach for a credit card or even your phone. You won't have to use them or the other devices at the games, but they'll come with prepaid values of between 30,000KRW to 50,000KRW ($27 to $45) to encourage shopping in South Korea. Visa hasn't offered pricing.
Google's Gboard for Android gets stickers and Bitmoji
Google announced today that the latest Gboard for Android update comes with support for downloadable stickers and Bitmoji that can be used in any app that supports image pasting. Once you have the latest version of Gboard, Android users will then be able to get the Bitmoji app or download sticker packs from the Play Store. To get to the new features after you've downloaded them, just hit the emoji button on Gboard and then the sticker or Bimoji button.
Now you can make local Snapchat filters on your phone
Geofilters have been making Snapchat boatloads of money, so it doesn't come as a surprise that the company is making them even more accessible. Starting today, you can create Geofilters right within the application, but only if you're in the US. If you are, there' no need to visit Snapchat's website anymore if, say, you're whipping up a design guests can use for a July 4th house party or for a friend's wedding. You don't even need to be a graphic designer, since you can just edit one of the app's stock templates.
Microsoft wants OneNote to be the go-to classroom app
Microsoft has been quietly focusing on the education market with its OneNote app for some time now. It's offered free Office 365 subscriptions for students, an integrated math tutor and a classroom-centric add-on called OneNote Class Notebook. The company has just updated OneNote with even more educational extras, including improvements to Notebook, new learning tools and some fun new stickers that teachers and students can use to spice up their collaborations.
Amazon's iOS app inexplicably adds photo stickers
Back in February, Amazon added its product- and barcode-recognition technology, "Flow," to its iOS shopping app. The feature had its own standalone app, but bringing it to the main one let users scan items using their smartphone's camera and add to their account's lists. The latest version, updated yesterday, added something a little extra: Stickers. You know, the ones all the messaging services and social mediums are adding. Except these are stickers of actual products that you can click on to buy.
More people use Instagram Stories than Snapchat itself
The common belief is that Snapchat rules all when it comes to evaporating photo essays. But the numbers don't quite back it up. Instagram has announced that over 200 million people are using Stories every day to share quick moments from their lives -- almost 50 million more than Snapchat as a whole sees in an average day. Snapchat's 158 million count is from its IPO filing in February, but, the app's entire user-base cresting 200 million in two months seems pretty unlikely. Of course, 200 million is still only a third of Instagram's user-base, but those aren't bad numbers either considering the feature launched last August.
Giphy's latest app is exclusively for animated stickers
When is a GIF not a GIF? Well, when it's pronounced JIF, for one; but also, when it's actually a sticker. Blurring this boundary is lord of the looping image Giphy, which recently introduced a neat, educational set of signing GIFs -- or a new toolkit for creating complex reaction memes, depending on how you look at it. Getting back to tomfoolery, the company is launching Giphy Stickers today.
Instagram Stories now feature Snapchat-like geostickers
Snapchat gave users location-specific stickers for snaps back in August and now Instagram is doing the same. With a recent update to the photo-sharing app, you can now use geostickers to adorn images and videos in Instagram Stories. Right now though, the feature is only available in two cities: NYC and Jakarta. However, the company says that there are more than a dozen options for each locale.
Tumblr's mobile apps finally have photo filters and stickers
In a move possibly inspired by Snapchat, or even Instagram, Tumblr is bringing photo filters and stickers to its iOS and Android apps. But that's not it: The feature will also work with GIF posts, which is going to let you spice up your feed even more than you already are. Tumblr says you can choose from over 100 "extremely relevant" stickers, so you shouldn't have a problem finding one that fits the message you're trying to get across. And fret not if you don't see these in your Tumblr app yet, as the update just started rolling out today to the App Store and Google Play.
Instagram Stories gets stickers and forced holiday cheer
It doesn't look like Instagram will stop lifting features from Snapchat anytime soon. Today it's the addition of stickers in Instagram Stories (a feature which itself was a direct Snapchat copy) on iOS and Android. You'll be able to add stickers for things like the weather, your current location and the time in photos and videos that appear in your story. Yes, it's not exactly groundbreaking stuff, but it's the sort of fun and irreverent thing that's made Snapchat more appealing to younger folks. Instagram (and Facebook) just want in on that action.
Google unveils Allo-assisted 'Stranger Things' scavenger hunt
Google is trying hard to get folks using its AI-gifted Allo messenger service, so it has jumped on a popular Netflix show. It has revealed some Stranger Things tie-ins for Halloween, including a sticker pack and an AI-assisted scavenger hunt. If you're in New York City today (October 28th) and want to participate, you just ask Google Assistant "Where is Barb," a reference to the character who just kind of ... disappeared from the show.
Grammar Snob stickers for iMessage are ready to ruin your friendships
Apple added support for third-party apps right in iMessage as part of the iOS 10 release, and thus far the obvious use for this feature has been stickers. Everyone loves slapping stickers in their messaging apps. But, lest we forget, iMessage is primarily an app for communicating with words. And it's entirely possible that some of your friends don't use there words well. If that's the case, consider the Grammar Snob sticker pack: it's a bunch of red-pen corrections for common mistakes that you can slap on you're friends' errant chat bubbles.
Facebook's sticker search has a queasy political reaction
I don't usually search out particular stickers to express myself on Facebook Messenger (I'm a 💯 or 🔥 emoji kind of guy) but recently people who do, have noticed some strange results. VentureBeat points out a tweet by Serena Ehrlich showing the vomit sticker in response to searches for liberals or feminism. The company responded saying something in its search algorithm caused the response and that it should not continue to appear after today.
Twitter's promoted stickers invade UK feeds
Playing its part in the ongoing game of shameless social network feature copying, Twitter launched stickers for all users last month. These let you spice up your pictures with emoji and other cartoony overlays before posting them, and you can also search by sticker to see what others are doing with them. It took all of five minutes for Twitter to suck the fun out of the feature, though, as Pepsi became the first brand to shell out for promoted stickers. And now Brits can feature in quarterly ad revenue statistics, too, with the launch of promoted stickers in the UK.
