What is Snapchat after all? Snapchat is a fun instant messaging app with a twist – it’s based on the idea of connecting with your friends without leaving a lot of digital baggage on the web, making your messages available only for a time after they’re sent. This makes it the most popular app with teens who don’t want to leave an embarrassing record of their youth (don’t you wish something similar was available in the days of MySpace or LiveJournal?).
Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel said his app is a solution to the stress of social media, where people have to worry about the longevity of their digital presence, something he noticed by observing “the emergency posting of photos by. Facebook before job interviews and photoshopping ads with candid photos before hitting the Internet. “
An innovator in many areas, Snapchat pioneered the use of “stories” – short messages or videos that are deleted immediately after posting. Since then, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and many others have successfully copied the feature, which has now become almost innate on social media.
Although other social apps are gnawing on Snapchat’s audience, the app still boasts a huge user base and engagement scores:
- Snapchat has almost 200 million daily users. In 2019, the number dropped slightly to around 181 million from 190 million in 2018, which is impressive.
- In March 2019, Snapchat reached 90% of teens ages 13-24 in the United States.
- On average, users spend around 30 minutes on the app every day.
- Snapchat’s revenue increased in 2019, drawing a positive future for the app
- Snapchat’s mascot, a cute ghost, is nicknamed Ghostface Chilla by famous rapper Ghostface Killa.
Simply put, Snapchat is here to stay. So if you are a long time Snapchatter or confused by the phenomenon and want to get involved, you may be looking for information on how to get Snapchat on Mac. But can you use Snapchat on a Mac?
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How to Get Snapchat on Mac Quickly
At this point, you may be wondering “how to download Snapchat for Mac?” It’s a reasonable question, but unfortunately there is no official Snapchat for Mac yet. Snapchat has deliberately kept its app on mobile to ensure it stays fun and disposable; for example, you should not use Photoshop on your snapshots. The idea is to take a quick photo or video, send it to your friends, and forget about it.
However, there are still many reasons why you might want to have Snapchat on Mac. Maybe you find your phone too annoying, but you still want to connect with friends. Maybe you have a business and you want to promote it on Snapchat, but find that phone use is too limiting. Or maybe you don’t have a smartphone at all (no judgment) or it’s currently broken.
Whatever the reason for installing Snapchat on your computer, don’t despair, there are some tricks on how to use Snapchat on Mac that are worth mentioning.
Get BlueStacks for Mac – Snapchat Emulator
BlueStacks is a Mac application that allows you to turn your laptop into an Android device, at least for one window. This means that any application available on Android will also be available on your Mac, with a few simple steps in between. This also means that you can get Snapchat for Mac without much effort. Let’s talk in detail.
Download BlueStacks for Mac
Of course, to use BlueStacks you must first download it:
- Go to bluestacks.com and press Download BlueStacks
- Run the .dmg installer from the Downloads folder
- Follow the instructions to enable the required access level for the application
Done. This is why BlueStacks for Mac is the simplest and most intuitive Snapchat emulator out there.
How to connect your Google account
Since BlueStacks is an Android emulator, you must have a Google account to download apps from the Google Play Store, including Snapchat. Don’t worry, it’s absolutely free.
When you start BlueStacks for the first time, it will guide you through the login process:
- Click on the Google Play Store icon
- Login with your Google account or create a new one
Once you have a linked BlueStacks account, you will be able to use a fully functional Android device right on your MacBook. And because your computer is more powerful than your average Android phone, apps are likely to run even faster and with higher definition on BlueStacks for Mac, a great choice for power-hungry games and apps. But let’s get back to Snapchat on Mac one more time.
How to download Snapchat on Mac
If you’ve ever used Android, downloading Snapchat on Mac using BlueStacks won’t be a problem. But even in case you’re unfamiliar with Android, it’s not rocket science. All you have to do is click on the Google Play Store icon.
The Google Play Store is like the App Store for Android devices, with many cool things to explore. To get started, let’s download Snapchat on MacBook:
- Click on the Play Store search bar
- Type “Snapchat” and hit enter
- Choose Snapchat from the list of results and click “Download and install”
Once Snapchat is fully installed, you can access it from the Android home screen on BlueStacks. The app is fully functional and will even detect your webcam so you can start shooting right away.
This is pretty much everything you need to know about using Snapchat on Mac with BlueStacks.
How to get Snapchat on Mac without BlueStacks
Some of you may be wondering if it is possible to use Snapchat on a Mac without BlueStacks, for example, to view Snapchat online. Unfortunately, there are no other ways to officially use Snapchat on Mac yet. Apple seems to have plans to bring Snapchat to the App Store, but since there is no set release date at the moment, you shouldn’t expect that anytime soon.
In the meantime, if you don’t want to bother with a Snapchat emulator, there are other instant messaging apps for your Mac that could fill the gap.
IM + is another great application for your Mac, which combines all your messaging services in a single interface. You can manage your Facebook Messenger, Slack, Instagram, WhatsApp, Tinder, and LinkedIn from IM + with ease instead of juggling countless tabs in your browser to communicate with friends and colleagues.
More importantly, IM + supports a relatively new Snapchat service called Snap Map, which allows you to see where your friends are at any given time. Currently, it’s the closest thing to Snapchat you can get. And even if Snapchat releases its Mac app in the future, you can be sure IM + will support it right away.
Uplet is the best way to use Instagram on your Mac. The tool allows you to create and share permanent Instagram posts and manage multiple accounts at the same time. In a word: a complete Instagram experience.
Created with an intuitive design in mind, Uplet is built on a unique but very powerful feature: bulk upload of content on Instagram. It’s a wonderful tool for both private use and business account management while allowing you to share a large amount of content at the same time.
Best of all, both Uplet and IM + are available for a 7-day unlimited trial with no strings attached through Setapp, a Mac platform with over 180 social, productive, and utility applications for your daily life. Basically, Uplet and IM + will ensure that you will never be separated from your friends, not even for a minute.