Snapchat is a photo-sharing and social networking service. The Snapchat mobile app (application) enables users to instantly send or post (make public) photographs and short videos. Snapchat’s signature feature is that photographs or videos are only available for a single viewing, rather than remaining viewable indefinitely. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide use Snapchat in their daily lives. Companies, news sources, and publishers use Snapchat to post brief content and advertisements.
The temporary nature of the content on Snapchat contributes to a relaxed, informal posting environment. Snapchat enables users to share with an individual, a limited group, or all friends in a story. A story is a collection that can include pictures and short videos and remains available for viewing for 24 hours. Snapchat popularized this story format, which was later adopted by such other social networking services as Instagram and Facebook . Snapchat users can also send messages to one person or a select group. Messages, unlike photos and videos, can be saved in user-to-user conversations. Snapchat also stores memories, photos and videos that users save through the app. Users can take photos or videos directly through the app or upload and edit photos or videos stored on their smartphones.
Snapchat was created by the American entrepreneurs (business developers) Reggie Brown, Bobby Murphy, and Evan Spiegel, who met as students at Stanford University in California. They developed the service, originally called Picaboo, in 2011. The app began by enabling users to send photos that would disappear after viewing. However, users could preserve photos by taking screenshots on their smartphones while the app was open. Snapchat later added notifications for screenshots, along with the ability to write captions. Snapchat became part of the company Snap Inc., created in 2016.
Notable features of Snapchat include several ways to enhance photos and videos. Lenses are among the most popular enhancements. The lenses feature can distort the user’s face or add such elements as animal ears, colors, hats, flower crowns, or glasses. Users can also add drawings, animations, locations, stickers, text, and emoji to their photos and videos. Emoji are simple images or symbols used to express an idea or emotion. Companies may create custom filters to advertise special events. Stores or restaurants may make available custom filters based on the user’s location.
