snapchat
Latest
Whatsapp encrypted voice chat is reportedly coming soon
While much of the tech community has already come out in support of Apple over its ongoing encryption battle with the FBI, you can also expect the conversation to lead to even more secure products. Whatsapp, which has been offering end-to-end encryption for text chats since 2014, plans to encrypt voice chats in the "coming weeks," The Guardian reports. The company might also start marketing its secure capabilities more, something that it's downplayed in the past.
Major League Baseball takes Snapchat to the dugout during games
Snapchat isn't new to sports coverage, but with Major League Baseball this season, the social channel is making a big push at the ballpark. The collaboration between the app and the league kicks off next Friday (March 11th) when MLB will allow players to use cellphones in the dugout for the first time. Before, during and after Spring Training games, players will be permitted to post their own snaps and selfies. Oh yeah, there's a special selfie stick for the occasion: the SnapBat. Yes, really.
Instagram blocks users from linking to Telegram and Snapchat
You know that website section in your Instagram bio? It's the only place on the social network where you can deeplink to other parts of the internet, and IG celebs often use it to let fans know where else they can be found. It still works as intended, but it has suddenly stopped supporting Telegram and Snapchat links, as TechCrunch reported. An IG spokesperson confirmed to TC that it has "removed the ability to include 'add me' links" to profiles." He said that it was "not the way [their] platform was intended to be used," but that "other types of links are still allowed."
Even Snapchat falls victim to phishing attempts
Snapchat bragged about its eight billion daily video views on Monday, but over the weekend something happened that the ephemeral social app is probably less enthusiastic to admit: it's just as susceptible to phishing attempts as anyone else. A post on the company's blog says that last Friday someone impersonating the ghostly app's CEO emailed the payroll department and requested and received information about some of its staff.
Snapchat Stories come to the browser with Oscars roundup
Snapchat is immensely popular, but at the moment its plentiful Snaps and stitched Stories are trapped inside the mobile app. If you're on a laptop or PC, or want to share a Snap on another social network, there's no obvious way of doing so. That state of affairs started to change last night, however, when Snapchat slapped a live Story up on its website. It meant anyone could get a taste of what people were posting at the event, including, perhaps most importantly, people that aren't already on Snapchat.
Snapchat lenses help you celebrate your birthday (or a pal's)
Social networks have made it way easier to remember friends' birthdays, and now they're trying to help us create less boring greetings. Facebook, for instance, just launched 15-second birthday videos, and now Snapchat has introduced a pair of "birthday party" lenses in its latest update. The first one works on your own special day, and let's you post confetti-laced greetings to friends or your own timeline (above). The other one works on a pal's birthday, and lets you double-tap to add a cake emoji to any greeting you send their way. The update should arrive today, but if you still find those too impersonal, you could always splurge on another new Snapchat feature: Custom geofilters.
Snapchat wants its users to pay to make their own geofilters
Snapchat's various location-based filters have turned into one of the service's defining features. It started out as a way to add flair to your photos and videos in specific locations Snapchat deemed worthy, but the company opened up community submissions so that any neighborhood or area, no matter how small, could be represented. Today, Snapchat's expanding its geofilter submission program in an attempt to make some revenue: you can now pay to create a custom, temporary geofilter for an event. And for the first time, brands and businesses can submit a geofilter that features their logos.
Snapchat hopes you'll subscribe to video channels
Snapchat isn't content with simply offering videos through Discover and hoping you'll watch them... it wants to give you a reason to keep coming back. Recode sources understand that Snapchat is planning to let you subscribe to Discover channels. You'd know the moment when CNN or ESPN posts a new video, and the mobile apps would give the Discover icons a "magazine-like" look that shows the video du jour. The company isn't confirming anything, but Snapchat is reportedly aiming to launch subscriptions as early as May.
Dear Veronica: Become a cosplay master!
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-238240{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-238240, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-238240{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-238240").style.display="none";}catch(e){} I start this episode with a little rant about some Apple rumors that have been circulating about: I'm pro-headphone jack, though many Apple fans out there seem to disagree with me. Insanity, I tell you! However, my friend Bill Doran lightens the mood a bit with some tips for making your own cosplay! In my opinion, he's one of the most creative guys out there in that world, and you can't have a better teacher. He even made me look cool! Finally, I give you a little tutorial for adding people on Snapchat. Specifically, I cover searching for people's names, but you can also add new friends by taking a photo of their Snapcode (the QR-code like image in your profile) or by using location to find people in your immediate area. I will shamelessly use this opportunity to link you to my account (open on mobile), in case you'd like to add me there! ;) Keep sending those questions in using the hashtag #DearVeronica! Subscribe in iTunes, RSS or YouTube!
Justin.tv is set to return as a Snapchat channel
The man who played a key role in pioneering livestreaming as we know it is offering viewers a window into his life once more. Justin Kan announced that his Justin.tv "lifecasting" exploits will make a comeback as a Snapchat channel. Kan says he likes posting his "adventures" as Snapchat Stories already, so expect lots of travel and startup content. "Restarting Justin.tv might be a terrible idea. I'm actually undecided," Kan admitted. "But, it worked out well the first time."
Snapchat goes after the sports crowd with live score filters
If there's one key area where Snapchat could step its game up, it would be sports. And it looks like the social app's already doing something about that. According to TechCrunch, Snapchat has started rolling out a set of new geofilters called Live Score, which let users inside NBA arenas share pictures and videos with real-time score overlays. The feature's also said to work with "some other matches," but it's not clear what these are -- NFL or MLS, maybe? Either way, be sure to try it next time you're at a live sporting event.
Snapchat lets you add friends with a link, at last
Snapchat is a messaging platform that's so cool that the primary way to connect two people is by using... a QR code. Or at least it did, since its creators are now rolling out a way for you to add friends by creating a URL. That means that if you want to add Engadget to your feed, you can do so by heading over to snapchat.com/add/gadgetsnaps. It's not clear if this will make Snapchat more acceptable to the people who think it has a awful user interface, or if doing so will make the service less desirable to millennials. Either way, it's probably better pointing people to a URL than trying to make sharing a screenshot of a QR code seem cool.
Snapchat leak hints at a bid to fight Facebook Messenger
Snapchat has had features like live video calls for a while, but you almost wouldn't know it from the interface -- it's still built around those one-at-a-time photo and video messages. However, there are hints that Snapchat is giving its design a much-needed makeover. Leaked screenshots from Snapprefs' developers purport to show a hidden "ChatV2" interface where audio and video chat are obvious and easily accessible -- you'd always know when you could make a live call. There's also a revamped text chat interface that lets you send the stickers that have been all the rage in other messaging apps.
Go behind the scenes of the State of the Union with Snapchat
The White House announced today that it had joined Snapchat ahead of tomorrow's State of the Union address, the last before President Obama leaves office. Snapchat is a social site where users' fleeting posts disappear after just a few seconds. It boasts over 100 million active users, most of which weren't even old enough to vote when he was elected -- that is, they're under 25. Users can follow the president's posts by adding WhiteHouse or scanning the snapcode below.
Snapchat closes its lens filter store despite decent sales
You probably wouldn't give up hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue a month, but then you're not Snapchat. The social app will close down its popular lens store this Friday after opening it just a couple of months ago. As a reminder, with the camera in selfie mode, you can add a variety of free or 99 cent filters that make you a snowball target (above) or let you puke out rainbows, for example. The company will let you keep the lenses you've already bought, of course, and will eventually offer many of the paid lenses for free.
Use Snapchat Tuesday and the Gates Foundation will donate to AIDS prevention
Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, and as such the non-profit (RED) organization has plenty of activities planned to raise both money and awareness for its fight against the disease. If you're a Snapchat user, you can do your part just by adding a filter to your snaps: according to the LA Times, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will donate $3 to (RED) every time a Snap is posted that uses one of three custom "World AIDS Day" filters up to a grand total of $3 million.
Snapchat's new feature lets users dive deep into 'Stories'
Following on a series of recent upgrades and UI improvements, Snapchat began rolling out a new feature for its users on Monday, called Story Explorer. With it, users will be able to more fully examine and interact with the events that they're most interested in, similar to Twitter Moments. Simply swipe up from the bottom of any curated Story and the app will load up more Snaps relating to it. The new feature is currently only available for New York and Los Angeles Live Stories but the company plans to expand it to other Stories "very soon."
Snapchat's 'lens store' is full of 99-cent selfie filters
Snapchat debuted in-app purchases back in September with the arrival of replays, and now it's offering more ways for you to spice up your selfies. The ephemeral messaging app introduced what it's calling a "lens store" today, a collection of photo flair priced at 99 cents each. Lenses aren't new to Snapchat. In fact, they've been around for a while now. However, in addition to the seven or so free lenses that are available each day, there will be an addition 30 paid options. Once you hand over $1 to secure one, it's yours forever, showing up in the app between the free and paid add-ons.
Facebook tests Snapchat-like self-destructing messages
Some Facebook users in France have spotted a new feature in the Messenger app. They're seeing an hourglass in the top-right corner of a conversation that when tapped sets messages to self-destruct in one hour's time. Facebook says that it's testing this new feature in France and might roll it out to everybody if users embrace it. If this all feels a little familiar, that's probably because it's very similar to Facebook's own Slingshot app. And if that seemed familiar, that's because it was a pretty direct take on what Snapchat has been doing since it launched in 2011. Facebook attempted to buy Snapchat in 2013 for a rumoured $3 billion dollars, but Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel refused the offer. So it seems like Facebook has adopted the mentality that if you can't buy them, beat them.
Snapchat's video viewing triples in just six months
Have you been watching a lot of video on Snapchat lately? You're not alone... far from it, in fact. Snapchat has confirmed to the Financial Times that its video viewing has tripled in half a year, to the point where people are watching 6 billion clips every day. It didn't explain the sudden uptick, but it wouldn't be surprising if it's a combination of a growing user base with Discover and the increasing volume of Live Stories you can watch. Snapchat isn't just for recording private messages for your friends, then -- it may well be a one-stop video shop for some people.
