In the countries of the former CIS, Snapchat is not very popular. But in the countries of Europe, America, this is a real trend. The main feature of this social network is that it can only “post” photos and videos, filming through the camera in real time. Accordingly, no retouching, prepared horizons, Photoshop and other things. Maximum realism and at the same time privacy – all “snaps” (this is how the sent photos / videos are called in Snapchat) are deleted after 24 hours without the possibility of their recovery.
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Snapchat – what is it
So, the answer to the question of what Snapchat is is trivial: it is an application for mobile devices running iOS and Android for sharing short photos and videos. It should not be perceived as a social network – there are no profiles, personal pages, stories (like in Instagram). And in general, if the user has not sent a single message within 24 hours, then no information about him at all will be available, except for his nickname, which is not provided for in any of the popular social networks.
And the main “trick” of Snapchat, the creators themselves, call that in it people exchange only “living” moments, without any embellishments. More precisely, there is a preset set of filters, images and “lenses” here, but they have nothing to do with low-level processing of the final content – fine adjusting brightness, contrast, skin tone, etc. will fail.
No PC application provided. You can save created snaps on the device, but only personal ones. And in the future they will not be able to be “posted” on Snapchat. Thus, the developers are pushing users to publish the most daring photos / videos (of course, only in acceptable topics) – after 24 hours no one will be able to see them anyway. If in the same Instagram it is almost impossible to find photos without processing your idols, popular bloggers, then only such materials are published on Snapchat.
Profile settings
Before registering with Snapchat, you need to download the application to your smartphone (respectively, for the iPhone – from the AppStore, for Android – from GooglePlay), it is absolutely free. Account creation is performed as follows:
- run the program;
- select “Registration”;
- enter your first and last name;
- specify the desired nickname (latin letters, numbers, special characters, no spaces);
- indicate your phone number, enter the code from the sent SMS;
- specify your password (at least 8 characters);
- enter email.
On the first launch, you will be prompted to add friends from your phone book (only those users who also have Snapchat installed are shown). You do not need to do this, you can skip this step.
By default, the application language is installed the same as in the system itself. Russian is available. But if you wish, you can change it in the settings of “My Account”. To access it in the main program window (camera interface), just click on your profile icon, then on the gear icon (in the upper right corner of the screen). There is also a quick guide on how to change your account name (this can only be done on a smartphone).
It should be noted that in the chat, instead of a nickname, it is the user’s first and last name that is displayed. You can search for “friends” using any of these data. Moreover, even after changing the username, the old username can still be found within 24 hours.
Instructions for use
The main window of the program is the camera, it works immediately after launch (at the first boot, you will need to give permission to access it). By default, the front is used (for selfies), using the shortcut at the top right, you can switch to the “back”, but in this case, some filters and masks will become unavailable.
Swiping from left to right opens a chat – there you can choose which of them to send created snaps to or create new ones (manually adding each friend). If you still swipe to the left, the geolocation window will open (you can share your location with your friends). Swiping from right to left from the main window opens your current stories (which will be available for 24 hours). The next swipe from right to left opens the “feed” – it contains snaps from friends and other followers.
To take a photo, just press the capture key in the main window. To record a video, you need to hold down and hold the same button (and if you pull to the left, the video recording will continue, but you will no longer need to hold your finger on the screen).
Even before taking a photo or video, you can choose the effect that will be applied to the frame. There are static ones, there are animated ones. This will require:
- tap on the smiley to the left of the button for shooting;
- choose any effect you like (or tap on “More” and use user-created effects).
But masks in Snapchat are a kind of “frames” for photos and videos, but only for those with the face of the account owner. To open their list, you need to tap on the face image (right in the “camera” interface) and hold your finger for 2-3 seconds. The basic list includes only a few masks, but you can select “More” and select additional ones from the user library.
There are also premium effects and masks on Snapchat that can be obtained for a fee. They, in contrast to the custom ones, are of an order of magnitude better. And before adding a mask or effect to Snapchat, you can also turn on the flash. If you are using the front camera, after pressing the shutter button, the screen turns yellow for a split second. If the main camera is used, a regular flash is used.
Additional functions include a timer for shooting (enabled by a shortcut in the upper right part of the screen). Works for photos only. After pressing the capture button, the photo is taken after 3 seconds. Masks and effects are also involved. Before setting a timer for a snap shot, keep in mind that its duration cannot be changed – this is done on purpose so that photos and videos are taken without preparation.
Many users do not understand where the captured photos and videos are saved. By default – nowhere, only on the Snapchat server, from where they are deleted after 24 hours. But after shooting the material at the bottom left, you can click on the “Save” icon. It is suggested to choose:
- “Memories” (uploaded to the server, deleted from the device).
- “Memories and Film” (uploaded to the server, also saved on the device).
After you save a photo to Memories or Camera Roll, you can share them. And not necessarily in Snapchat. By clicking on “Send” you can send the picture as an attachment in any other messenger or via e-mail. The same functions are available after saving the video.
Basically, users don’t have any problems with how to use Snapchat. The interface is intuitive, all basic functionality can be mastered in 10 minutes.
Drawings, text, emoji
After taking a photo or video, the content can be edited. Minimum settings:
- add text (you can set the size, font, color, location on the screen);
- draw something (line thickness, color – you can customize);
- insert a link;
- insert emoji;
- add a picture (not full screen);
- add an animated effect or mask (and set their duration).
After that, it remains only to click “Send”. Otherwise, the snap is not saved, it will not be displayed in the history either.
Filters
Each filter is a set of preset effects applied to the image. With their help, you can change the contrast / brightness / anti-aliasing, add an additional lighting effect or color correction. The filter library now includes over 10,000 sets for every taste. There is an opportunity to create your own. For this you need:
- on the main screen, tap on the shortcut with an emoticon;
- at the bottom of the page select “Create”;
- select the desired filters.
By default, newly created filters remain available only to the user himself. But the opportunity to share with friends is also provided.
Lenses
The lens function is a dynamic effect that can be used when detecting faces in the frame. For example, replace the background with a beautiful fire or something similar. To open the lens, just press on your selfie and hold your finger (if the camera does not detect the “face”, the function will not open). You can use it for both photos and videos.
To share a snap, you first need to create a chat and add friends to it. Or add other “followers” (whose numbers are not stored in the phone book). To test the function, you can create a chat with yourself (just send to your account).
If you add a snap to the feed, all subscribers will see it (in the settings, you can configure privacy and make the profile hidden).
Account deleting
You will not be able to delete a profile from a mobile application – you can only exit it and after 24 hours it will be deactivated (regardless of whether the application is installed on a smartphone). If it is necessary to completely delete the profile and all its settings (list of chats, friends, and so on), then you will need:
- go to the website https://accounts.snapchat.com;
- enter your account data, if necessary, enter a password from SMS;
- select “Delete account”;
- re-enter your username and password;
- click “Next” and confirm the deletion;
- within 30 days, the account can be restored, then only create a new one.
It is recommended that you back up Memories and Camera Rolls on your device to Snapchat before deleting your account completely. This is done through the settings in the application.
All in all, Snapchat is really different from social networks and regular messengers. Nevertheless, in the United States, users themselves actively use it as a news portal, where ordinary people, not the media, act as “reporters”. Tell us in the comments if you use Snapchat and if you believe that it will also gain popularity in the countries of the former CIS.