Do you know what Snapchat is and why you should use it in 2023? It is true that Snapchat does not have the international fame of other applications, but it is still very high in number of users.
If there is something wrong with Snapchat, it is that it is not successful in all countries, yes in the most important ones, but not in all, and that is a big mistake.
If Snapchat stood out for something, it was for its ephemeral content and its messages that self-deleted after being read. But 2016 arrived and Zuckerberg created Instagram Stories.
Although the copy has weakened the original, Snapchat does not give up and is still as active as ever.
If you don’t know why you should use Snapchat in 2020, here is this guide so you can learn everything about the yellow ghost app.
1- What is Snapchat
Snapchat is a messaging application where you can chat with other people and send images and videos with augmented reality filters.
Its differentiation lies in the fact that the messages are deleted after being read, thus preventing the conversations from being saved.
In addition, the content that is published is ephemeral with a duration of 24 hours. This function was its great star for years along with augmented reality filters.
2- Brief history of Snapchat
Knowing the history of the products I use regularly is one of my great passions. Behind these great brands are stories that deserve to be told.
Do you want to know how Snapchat was born?
It was the Californian Evan Spiegel who invented Snapchat as a project for the subject of product design at Stanford University.
Later, Bobby Murphy joined to create the code for the app. Snapchat was born with the name of Picabo and what he did was post photos and delete them quickly.
In the presentation of the project, in front of his colleagues, he only got negative comments, none of them liked that the images were destroyed and could not be stored.
This happened in April 2011. Two years later, the company was valued at $10 billion.
They liked it so much that, at the end of 2013, Mark Zuckerberg (creator of Facebook) tried to buy Snapchat for 3,000 million dollars. What would you say? Would you take?
The creators of Snapchat said no. They saw enough potential in their app to survive on their own.
In 2014, Snapchat grew by 54% and became the social application that we most wanted to download. But in the summer of 2016, stories arrived on Instagram and Snapchat was touched yes, but sunk?
The data does not say the same. Every day 3 billion snaps are shared around the world and users spend an average of 30 minutes a day on the app.
The United States is the king of the app with more than 100 million users, followed by India (34 million) and France (21 million). These countries lead the ranking of almost 400 million users worldwide, surpassing Twitter and Pinterest in 2020.
3- How to use Snapchat
If you want to know how Snapchat works, the first thing you have to do is download the app and register with an email or your phone number.
Using Snapchat is easy if you are used to uploading content on other social networks.
You have the option of using the app’s own camera or uploading a photo from your phone’s camera roll.
In the snaps you can write texts, draw, cut objects and add it as a duplicate, share a link with URL or put stickers.
A different function that Snapchat offers with respect to Instagram Stories and other social networks, is that you can choose the playback time of the photos: from 1 to 10 seconds or unlimited duration.
4- Why you should use Snapchat
There are many reasons to use Snapchat in 2020 and here are some of the most important ones:
Best filters
Snapchat filters were unrivaled until 2019 when Instagram Stories filters improved a lot.
Snapchat plays filters and their duration very well, since you can only use the filters for a limited time. This way they ensure that, if you want to use an augmented reality filter, you use it now and don’t wait for another day.
This strategy also makes you want to log into the app every day to see what amazing filters are new.
The most successful are the faces with effects that distort your own face and change your voice. The puppy mask with ears and tongue sticking out, and the face that widens your mouth and distorts your voice are the most used filters on Snapchat.
Use Snapchat filters in Instagram Stories
While it’s true that Instagram now has some pretty great filters, Snapchat has a lot of amazing and unique filters.
You should use Snapchat to record yourself a video with those unique filters, download it to your camera roll and share it on Instagram stories.
Since they are Snapchat filters, it will produce a WOW effect among your Instagram followers. Many will ask you what this amazing filter is called.
Your family is not on Snapchat
Snapchat allows you the freedom to upload the photos you want without having to put up with the typical comments from your relatives saying how beautiful you are, how good you are or telling you off for sharing photos they don’t like.
Since Snapchat is not a common application in many countries, you will have more privacy to share content that you want.
And it’s not because Snapchat’s audience is younger, because TikTok was too and now it’s an app for all audiences.
Snapchat chat self-destructs
Snapchat allows you to send photos, videos and texts that are deleted after a few seconds, although you have the option to view it twice.
In addition, if they capture a screen, it notifies you that they have captured you. That’s why it’s a perfect tool to send and receive photos or videos that you don’t want the other person to save, for example festive erotic content. What we call sexting.
It is also used to have conversations that you don’t want to be saved as they self-delete after they have read it.
Instagram Stories also allows you to send content that only lasts a few seconds and notifies you if they screenshot the image you’ve sent, so ephemeral sexting is no longer a Snapchat monopoly.
But, Instagram doesn’t notify you if you screenshot a photo from stories or profile, so in that, Snapchat still wins: more privacy.
Bitmoji- An avatar with your face
Snapchat allows you to use your Bitmoji cartoon in messages, videos and photos, so the laugh is guaranteed.
If you don’t know what Bitmoji is, it’s an application in which you can create an avatar that looks like you and the app itself draws you in different everyday and very funny situations, like the ones you can see in the first posts on my Instagram professional.
Now Zuckerberg has copied it in the Facebook Avatars, which are a clear copy.
Your American idols are on Snapchat
Some may use Instagram Stories, but the vast majority share much more (and exclusive) content on Snapchat. The reason? They got used to using this app and they already have their community there. It is a matter of customs.
If you thought your idols were only on Instagram or TikTok, check if they have a Snapchat account and enjoy their most personal and private content.
How to spend less battery
If you have already used Snapchat, you will know that it is one of the apps that consumes the most data and battery. All that augmented reality and filters had to have its drawbacks.
But don’t worry, because I bring you some little tricks so that you don’t consume so much battery with Snapchat and you can enjoy it without having the charger at hand.
Activate Snapchat data saving mode
- Open Snapchat
- Go to the main screen (where your snapcode appears)
- Tap Settings in the top right
- Scroll down to Additional Services > Manage
- Turn on data saver
Use Snapchat without data or Wifi
You can use Snapchat without using your mobile data or Wifi. Just save the Snap to Memories and, when you’re connected to Wi-Fi, share the content with your followers.
delete memories on snapchat
When you save memories on Snapchat they are stored in the app taking up space. Remember to empty the contents of Memories when you have already used them and thus lighten the space it occupies.
Delete conversations on Snapchat
Although the conversations are deleted after being seen, there is a trick to save a phrase that we want to remember.
If you press and hold the phrase (both yours and that of the other participant in the conversation) the text is saved and the other person is notified.
This is stored in the app data so if you want to remove it to have the lighter app, you have to go to:
- Setting
- account actions
- delete conversations
- You can delete each conversation individually