Snapchat 101 « Smartphones

Snapchat 101: How to Unlock Hidden Filters & Lenses

There's nothing more fun than unlocking a hidden Snapchat filter or lens and beating everyone to that perfect first selfie. So when a new filter or lens comes out, like the current Uganda Knuckles one, it's always interesting to see how things will turn out.

How To: Pin Snapchat Stickers & GIFs So They Stay Put or Follow Subjects in Videos

Snap Inc. added stickers back in 2016 to its Snapchat app, and it has been building on that functionality ever since. Now, you can add Bitmojis and even GIFs from Giphy to your photos and videos. Even better, you can pin any of these stickers to background items or moving subjects when sharing videos. That means stickers aren't pinned to the screen itself but to a real-world location.

How To: Add Personalized Animated Stickers to Your Snapchat Photos & Videos with Cameos

Late last year, Snapchat introduced Cameos, deep fake-ish stickers animated from your own selfies. Now, Cameos have evolved as a sticker option to use in photos and videos captured with the app's camera.

Snapchat 101: How to Use Memories to Save Snaps, Edit Old Snaps & More

Snapchat is an app built on sending quick-to-disappear pictures to your friends and family. Sure, this is the primary function of the app, but sometimes users want longer-lasting Memories while interacting with Snapchat. While My Story allows snaps to stick around for 24 hours, they still disappear in time. This is where Memories come in handy.

How To: Accidentally Post to Your Snapchat Story? Here's How to Delete It

Snapchat is a wonderful app that allows users to "talk with pictures." You can send other users pictures of what you have going on in your day-to-day life, and they can respond with what's happening in their own. It's a seamless way to have a conversation with someone using visuals — sometimes even faster than you would be able to with words.

How To: Bypass Location Restrictions to Use Any Snapchat Geofilter You Want on Android

In 2014, Snapchat introduced a special type of Filter called Geofilters. Geofilters only appear when you're in a specific location. For example, a Disney Land Geofilter will only appear if you're actually there. Rather, your phone needs to think that you're at Disney Land. By spoofing your GPS location, you can effectively travel all across the globe — at least in the eyes of Snapchat.

Snapchat 101: How to Make Your Own Custom Geofilters & Lenses

Snapchat is in the midst of a massive redesign — one that not everyone loves. Still, it's clear that this is a decision fueled by money, and Snap Inc. believes this redesign will help attract more advertisers. Even so, Snapchat has a few more tricks up their sleeves to make a little extra dough. And while the average user couldn't care less about ads, they very easily could care about custom Filters and Lenses.

How To: 3 New Ways to Save Snapchats Without Getting Caught on Android

When Snapchat first hit it big, people just assumed it'd be used for seedy activities. And while that's not completely true, it's definitely true sometimes. For those moments when you need to take a sneaky screenshot that doesn't notify the sender, Android has plenty of ways to keep your cover from being blown — no root needed.

Snapchat 101: How to Use the Snap Map Without an Account

While it's easy enough to make yourself invisible on Snap Map, nothing is quite as private as not having a Snapchat account at all. Whether you're concerned about your privacy or you simply never signed up for the social media platform, Snapchat's web-based map is an easy way to check in on what's happening in your area and beyond.

Snapchat 101: Never Lose a Snapstreak with These 3 Tips & Tricks

One of the most popular things to do on Snapchat is to earn a Snapstreak. This occurs when you and one other friend have sent snaps (not chatted) to each other within 24 hours for at least three consecutive days. One you've passed the three-day mark, then you and your friend will receive a fire emoji next to your names.

Snapchat 101: How to Use Your Selfies to Create a Bitmoji Deluxe

Accompanying Snapchat's core features, like editing snaps and applying filters to them, is Bitmojis. These are small avatars that you create in your own likeness and use all throughout Snapchat. Formerly, there were two "styles" that you could pick from to make your Bitmoji: Bitstrips style and Bitmoji style. But Snapchat has a third style now that will redefine the way you use Bitmojis.

How To: Save Snapchats Without Getting Caught on Your iPhone — No Jailbreak Required

Snapchat doesn't prevent you from taking screenshots of snaps received, but the other user will get an alert either as a prominent push notification or a subtle note in the app. Snapchat has improved its screenshot detection abilities over the years, so it's much harder to circumvent its technology for truly undetected screenshots — but not impossible.

How To: Add 2020's Most Popular Songs to Your Snaps & Stories in Snapchat

Snaps are a great way to share the best moments of your day. So, don't those moments deserve a sick soundtrack? If you wanted to add music to your snaps in the past, you'd need to find a way to play the tunes in the background before recording a snap. That's no longer the case since you can now add songs to your snaps directly in Snapchat itself.

Snapchat 101: How to Turn On Ghost Mode for Snap Map to Keep Your Location Private

Snapchat recently updated their Android and iPhone apps with a new feature called Snap Map which lets you share your current location with other Snapchatters, as well as see their current locations. It may sound like an interesting new feature, but sharing your exact location with all of your Snapchat followers is dangerous, to say the least. Luckily, it's easy to turn this feature off.

Snapchat 101: How to Add GIFs from Giphy to Your Snaps

A relatively new feature in Snapchat, having been first introduced in February 2018, is GIF support. These new animated stickers, straight from a partnership with Giphy, came to the app about a month after Instagram received GIF capabilities. If you've used Instagram's version, adding GIFs to snaps is even more intuitive. While they were late to the game, they're doing it better.

How To: Use Your Favorite Snapchat AR Lenses on Zoom, Skype, Meet & Other Video Conferencing Apps

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic means that social distancing has become the new normal. It also means that more Americans are using video conferencing to connect with colleagues working from home or friends and family in quarantine because of the new coronavirus.

Snapchat 101: How to Create & Use Stickers

Snapchat offers a rich experience for anyone looking to communicate with pictures in addition to (or instead of) words. There are many ways to share your snaps, from Memories to My Story. You can even draw all over your snaps, creating a unique experience that hinges on your own illustrations. Sometimes, though, you want to customize your snaps in a different way. In a more collage-y sort of way.

Snapchat 101: How to Tag Your Friends Using Snap's @ Mention Feature

Along with the awesome early-2018 addition of Giphy GIFs in Snapchat, you can now share other people's Snapchat handles and tag them in a way that lets others reach those people easily — something you couldn't do before in the app.

Snapchat 101: How to Share Custom Lenses & Filters with Friends That Won't Disappear

In late-2017, Snapchat debuted Lens Studio, a way for anyone to create their own augmented reality "world lenses" that can be shared to anyone with a Snapchat account. If you don't mind spending money, you can even create custom face lenses and basic overlay filters for special events. And while making lenses and filters have gotten pretty easy, distributing them is another matter entirely.

Snapchat 101: Send One Snap & Reach All Your Friends with Groups

In case you missed it, you don't have to chat one-on-one anymore in Snapchat. The company added group chats back in 2016, and they are increasingly gaining new features such as video and audio chats, so communicating Snapchat-style with all your friends at once is better than it's ever been.