Snapchat has evolved from being an app with a handful of obvious
naughty uses to a social media platform where you can both broadcast
your life and watch content from a wide range of sources. The messaging
app’s ability to let you control the privacy of the pictures and videos
you send was integral to its popularity. A recent update to the app has
added new features that allow users to send stickers, voice memos and
GIF-like notes, as well as place voice and video calls.
Snapchat has become so popular so fast that more than 800 million
snaps are being shared per day, and there are more than 100 million
active users watching 7 billion videos per day. Brands like BuzzFeed,
ESPN, National Geographic and People magazine have made their way to
Snapchat, giving fans an inside look at what's going on behind the
scenes. Here's how to sign up, get started snapping out photos and
videos and become a Snapchat expert.
How to get started with Snapchat
1. Install the Snapchat app. Fire up the
App Store or
Google Play and install it. Kick your feet up while the app transfers over.
2. Sign up for an account.
Since you can’t just use an existing Facebook/Google/Your Favorite
Social Network account to log your way into the service, you’ll need new
credentials. Tap Sign Up. You’ll be asked for your email address,
password and your birthday. Tap Sign Up.
3. Pick a username. Select a “unique identifier” for
your account that cannot be changed once it’s set. Your friends can use
this to find you on the service, and the username will appear
underneath your real name in their Snapchat contact list.
4. Friend up.
Snapchat will ask you if it can tap into your phone’s contacts list.
Unless you have a burning desire to add friends manually, we recommend
you grant Snapchat this permission so you can commence friend-adding.
iOS users will also be asked to enter in their mobile numbers for easier
searching; fret not, Android fans, for you can add this information
later — so long as the text-based verification goes smoothly for you.
Once Snapchat comes back with a list of your contacts that it has
identified as users of the service, you can add them as friends by
clicking the large person-with-a-plus button to the right of their
names. If you want to remove contacts (or block them) later, just
long-press on their names until the secondary menu pops up on your
screen.'
How to send pictures or video in Snapchat
1. Tap to shoot, hold to record video.
Once you’re on Snapchat’s main screen, taking a picture is pretty
easy for those who have ever used their phones’ cameras before. If not,
here’s a quick guide: Tap an area of the picture you want your phone to
focus on. Tap the big round circle to take a picture. Hold the big round
circle to take a video.
2. Save your own shots.
The
icon to the right of the timer, a downward-facing arrow, allows you to
dump the shot you just took into your phone’s traditional gallery. It’s
useful if you want to save your shot for future purposes, as there’s no
other way to do so once you’ve sent the picture out.
3. Set picture time limit.
Tap on the stopwatchlike icon in the lower left and you can set the
specific time that you want your picture to be available for a friend to
view. You can go all the way from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it 1 second
to a maximum duration of 10 seconds.
4. Add a caption.
Tap
in the middle of the picture, and you can add text on top of your photo
or video. Tap on the T icon to change the caption from a line to text
to a larger brick of text. After you've written a caption for your
snaps, you can move, pinch and zoom that text to place it just where you
want. Before you can pinch and zoom your caption, you'll need to have
set the text to the larger font, by tapping on the T icon.
If you’re feeling a little nostalgia for "Draw Something," you can
also tap on the icon in the upper-right corner of the screen to draw
directly onto your image with varying colors of a virtual pen.
5. Send your snaps.
Click on the arrow icon in the lower right to get your shot ready to
send. Up pops your friends list; select everyone that you want to
receive your image, take one final breath of confidence and click on the
now-displayed arrow in the lower right-hand corner.
Discover Videos on Snapchat
Tap on the icon in the lower right corner to move to the stories
screen. At the top of the screen, Snapchat has a row of icons that lead
to streams of photos and videos from brands like Refinery29, ESPN and
Comedy Central. You can swipe to the left to jump to the next snap,
press and hold to send a snap to a friend and pull down to leave the
stream. Tapping on the Globe icon in the upper right corner of the
Stories screen allows you to check out more brands, like CNN, Vice and
Food Network.
How to view Snapchat messages
If you’ve received a Snapchat, or just want to check out the log of
Snapchat pictures or videos you’ve sent out to your friends (just the
log; not the media itself), tap the little cube icon on the lower-left
of Snapchat’s main screen. If you have any to-be-viewed messages, the
number will appear over the cube itself.
Once you’re on the messages screen, you’ll see any new pictures or
videos that your friends have sent you listed with a filled-in square or
arrow icon and a “tap to view” message underneath them. Don’t do that
unless you’re really ready to view the image or video, because that
starts the countdown timer for how long you’ll be able to view it. When
the timer runs out, the message will transition over to a “double tap to
reply” prompt — do just that to continue your Snapchat “conversation.”
When you're watching a story, you can tap to skip ahead, swipe left
to advance to the next user you follow and pull down to exit.
How to send a text message in Snapchat
If you want to send texts without photos, tap on the voice bubble
icon in the upper left corner in the Snapchat message log screen. Find a
friend you've sent a photo to already, type your note and click Send.
These messages will self destruct after they've been viewed, and if one
of you takes a screenshot of the chat transcript, Snapchat will let the
other person know.
How to send a video note in Snapchat
You
can record short, looping GIF-like videos by holding down on the camera
icon for up to 10 seconds. Snapchat will record from your front camera,
and the video will be sent when you release your finger from the
screen. If you don't like the video, you can drag your finger to the X
in the middle of the screen. Your recipient can tap on the video to hear
the clip's audio.
How to send an audio note in Snapchat
To
record a short audio message to send to a friend, hold down on the
phone handset icon and speak. You can send the sound byte to your friend
by removing your finger from the screen. If you don't like the message
you recorded, drag your finger to the X icon in the middle of the
screen.
How to make a video call in Snapchat
You can also have video chats with your friends, and all you need to
do is tap the Camera icon in the message screen. Snapchat will then
attempt to set up a video conference call between you and your friend.
Your friend will take up the majority of the screen, and you'll be able
to see yourself in a bubble on the bottom of your phone. If you need to
switch to an audio-only call, tap the phone icon.
How to make an audio call in Snapchat
If you want to have a phone call with one of your Snapchat friends
you've been exchanging messages with, tap the phone icon above the
keyboard. If your friend has Snapchat notifications turned on, they will
receive an alert that you're trying to call. This way you can call
someone and stay inside of the app, and you don't need to give someone
your phone number. To add video to the call, tap the camera icon.
How to send photos in Snapchat
To send a photo from your camera roll, tap the picture icon above the
keyboard and select images. To annotate one of these images, tap Edit
to access Snapchat's doodles, emoji stickers and text tools. You can
share multiple photos by tapping on additional images before you click
the arrow icon in the lower right corner to send. Photos can also be
shared during audio or video calls.
How to send stickers in Snapchat
Tap on the smiley icon above the keyboard to bring up a list of
stickers that include doughnuts, gold stars and a cat offering a rose.
Select a sticker to send it.
How to edit Snapchat settings
Tap the ghost icon at the top of the screen, and then tap the gear
icon in the window’s upper right corner. You can confirm your mobile
number by tapping the associated field if you skipped this part when
first setting up Snapchat. You can also open up your Snapchat for
messages from anyone on the service — not just your friends — by
changing that setting (but make sure you want to do that).
How to add a profile photo
Tap on the Ghost icon at the top of the main screen, and then tap on
the Snapchat icon in the upper middle part of the screen. Press the
shutter button at the bottom of the screen. Snapchat will take a series
of photos of you using the front-facing camera on your device. Tap the
action button at the upper right corner of the screen to share this
online so that your friends on Twitter, Facebook and other services can
add you on Snapchat. If you want to take a new profile photo, click the
retry button in the upper left corner.
How to add filters
After you've shot your snap, swipe to the left or right to add a
visual filter that adjusts the photo quality — changing it to sepia or
saturated — or one with a text overlay that shows the temperature in
your area, the speed you're moving at or the neighborhood you're
snapping from. You can add two filters by holding your finger down on
the edge of the screen after you found the first filter you want to use,
and then swiping again with your free hand.
With the On Demand Geofilters
feature, you can create your own location-specific filter and layer it
on top of your snaps. Make sure your design meets Snapchat's guidelines,
upload it through the web portal, specify what location it's meant for,
wait for approval and voila! You can show off your Snapchat-approved
artwork, and people who visit your location can also use it.
How to add an animated selfie-lens
When you're snapping a selfie — tap the icon in the upper right
corner to switch to front-facing mode if you haven't already — press and
hold on the part of the screen where your face is. After a wire-frame
design appears on your face, a series of lens option buttons will
appear.
Swipe between the options to change from a thirsty dog'd hipster, a
moustachioed viking , an ice god and more. Follow the prompts — like
‘Raise Your Eyebrows.’ — that appear, and tap the capture button to take
a Snap, or press and hold on the capture button to record a video.
How to post to your public Story
If you want to share a photo or video you've shot with all of your
followers, tap on the Square and Plus button on the lower left corner
after shooting a snap. Tapping on the arrow in the bottom right corner
will make your snap visible to all of your Snapchat friends for 24
hours. You can also select your area's Local Story to share your moment
with your community. You can view the Story streams that your friends
have published by tapping on the icon in the bottom right corner of the
main screen.
How to snap better at night
When you're taking photos in dark areas, a moon icon will appear in
the upper left corner, next to the flash icon. Tap on this icon for
brighter photos and videos, so it will be easier for your audience to
see what's going on.
How to add emojis to your snaps
Click on the sticker icon at the top of your photo or video when
you're editing it to bring up the emoji sticker sheet. You can add as
many emoji as you and, as well as pinch and zoom them to your heart's
content.
The Android version of Snapchat also gives you the opportunity to
lower the quality of the videos the app takes, as well as Snapchat’s
default camera orientation. You’ll find both of these settings buried
within the “Video Settings” section.
