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Category: Snapchat

  • Snapchat Users Were Snooped Upon By Company Employees, Here’s How

    Snapchat Users Were Snooped Upon By Company Employees, Here’s How

    It seems like information transferred via most applications is not secure anymore. Where local security was an important matter of concern some years back, privacy has lost its dignified spot with the advancements in technology. Conglomerates like Facebook were previously under scrutiny for indulging in activities that led to data leaks worldwide. The latest addition to the list includes Snapchat, a popular media sharing platform that has been allegedly accused of accessing private user data without consent. 

    SnapchatIt has been reported that the company consists of multiple departments, some of them with access to user data via dedicated tools. Former employees of Snapchat have divulged that multiple Snap employees misused their access privileges to pry on private Snapchat user data several years ago. The user data included location information, saved snaps, phone numbers and email addresses. All this information has been derived from a cache of internal company emails obtained by sources. 

    Reports also state that one of the aforementioned tools that the company employees were allegedly using was SnapLion. The original intended use of the tool was to make a database of information concerning users – all of this in response to valid law enforcement requests. Reportedly, this tool was only intended for use by select officials of Snapchat, but this was clearly not the result.

    SnapchatAlso Read: OnePlus 7 Pro Camera May Not Have A True 3x Optical Zoom

    It is very unnerving to see that the application which relies on end-to-end message security as a central basis of its existence fall to internal security breaches like these. Snapchat has more than 180 million users worldwide who need to be aware of the same. Almost 5 years back in 2014, Snapchat was fined by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) for failing to disclose the collection, transmission and storage of geolocation data derived from the users. Users need to know that behind the “secure” application which they use every day are actual people who can access their highly sensitive data at the press of a button.  

  • Snapchat Releases A Rebuilt Android App Promising Faster Performance

    Snapchat Releases A Rebuilt Android App Promising Faster Performance

    Snapchat, a popular multimedia messaging platform has faced its fair share of problems previously. The Android version of its application has always been complained about not being on par with the performance of its iOS counterpart. While the app was fairly stable and easy to work with on the latter, the former faced a lot of lags and continuous slowdowns which resulted in a sub-par experience. The company has freshly announced a new, rebuilt version of its Android application which promises a more refined, lag-free user experience. 

    Snapchat’s New Android App

    The new Snapchat app for Android OS is a complete overhaul of the platform. However, it doesn’t bring any drastic visual changes to the table but instead relies on fixing the problems it faced on the inside. Notably, the Android and iOS versions of the messaging platform were identical visually and feature little to no differences in terms of controls and usability. The issues that users faced, as mentioned above were mainly performance related, which Snapchat claims will be fixed with the new update, and bring it on par with the iOS version. Interestingly, previous issues with fixing the Android app according to the company was the diverse range of devices that the platform boasted of, with each running on different internals and sporting differently sized displays. This made optimisation difficult for each device.

    Also Read: Best Fitness Trackers Available In India Under Rs. 3,000

    Another issue that the users faced previously was the disparity between feature distributions. While the iOS app received new features including filters and menu options right as they were announced, it took weeks and sometimes even months until the said feature made its way to the green side. The company has said that in future, the Android version may even get features faster than its iOS counterpart. Previously, due to the aforementioned issues, users of Snapchat on Android were reported to switch to rival platforms like Instagram, which caused a substantial dent in the company’s revenue last year.

  • Snapchat Launches Snap Games, Snap Original Shows & Upgrades Lens, Snap Kit

    Snapchat Launches Snap Games, Snap Original Shows & Upgrades Lens, Snap Kit

    Snapchat was first released in the year 2011, and over time, the application became popular because of its interesting Instant Messaging platform. The app allows users to send messages that vanish once the user on the other end has viewed the same. 8 years later, Snapchat is an application with a host of features such as Snap Map (which allows users to view the locations of their friends on the world map) and the Discover tab, which shows stories and video content from celebrities and creators across the world. On its Snap Partner Summit held on April 5, 2019, Snapchat unveiled a plethora of new features that will soon be added to the application. 

    Snap Games

    https://youtu.be/LWD4mfKx3eE

    A few weeks back, Snapchat teased a mobile gaming integration within its application. At the event, Snapchat shed light on its new gaming platform, known as Snap Games, which is a platform to play multiplayer games with friends. Furthermore, users can use text or voice chat while playing all those games. At the time of launch, Snap Games is rolling out with a total of 6 games, which are listed below:

    • Bitmoji Party

    • Tiny Royale (Zynga)

    • Snake Squad (Game Closure)

    • C.A.T.S. Drift Race (ZeptoLab)

    • Zombie Rescue Squad (PikPok)

    • Alphabet Hustle (Spry Fox)

    Snap Originals

    https://youtu.be/oKU99fWC1xs

    Interestingly, 2019 seems to be like an year where a lot of brands are trying to enter the show space. First Apple, and now Snapchat has announced its upcoming feature, Snap Originals, which will portray original programs and shows made by Snapchat. The shows will play in portrait mode, surprisingly, and will follow the ‘Stories’ trend of Snapchat. As of now, Snapchat has genres ranging from Teen dramas to documentaries and comedies as well. A total of 10 shows were announced at the time of launch, with a promise of new shows coming up soon.

    Snap Lenses

    As some users may be aware, Lenses are Augmented Reality effects that can be applied onto images or can be used with the Live Camera to create amazing filters. Lenses and filters are one of the most defining features of this application, and Snapchat has upgraded the same for a better experience.  As per the teaser video by Snapchat, the new Lens feature can be used to look up music, products, solve math problems and have fun with landmarks. Moreover, with the new Lens Studio, users can create their own lenses and share them in an active AR community, Snapchat says. Users can find out more about Snap Originals here

    Snap Kits

    https://youtu.be/a7sfJ8ei25o

    Also Read:  Samsung Launches The Galaxy A20 In India

    As the last announcement of the event, Snapchat stated that it will incorporate new upgrades to the Snap Kit. Snap Kit is a set of development tools that allow developers to embed Snapchat based features in their own applications. Previous apps using Snap Kits are Tinder and Houseparty. Additionally, Bitmoji Kits will allow users to implement Bitmojis (animated avatars) in other applications too. The aforementioned features may be available in an official update very soon, however, Snap Originals will roll out in the upcoming months. 

  • Snapchat May Soon Launch A Gaming Platform Like Facebook

    Snapchat May Soon Launch A Gaming Platform Like Facebook

    Snapchat may be familiar to a lot of users as an application that can be used to send “disappearing” messages. Initially intended only for the aforementioned purpose, the app has gone through a lot of updates since then. Some of them are the “discover” tab, where users can see interesting and engaging content, and the snap map, which geotags all the user’s friends on the world map, allowing them to keep track of their vacations, travels and a lot more. Reports say that the company is now planning to announce a gaming platform for its developers in April, 2019.

    About The Project

    Initially codenamed “Project Cognac“, the mobile gaming platform will be integrated into the application itself and will showcase a number of games designed by developers who are specifically working on Snapchat-based add-ons. This project will be unveiled at the company’s first ever summit in Los Angeles, which is being held especially for Content and Developer partners of the company. On April 4, new video content will also be announced for the platform.

    In 2018, Snapchat acquired an Australian Gaming Studio called Pretty great for almost US$ 8.6 million. Reports say that one of the employees of the studio was a part of the hit mobile games “Jetpack Joyride” and “Fruit Ninja”. It was also reported that Snapchat has invested a confidential amount of money in the studio for venturing into the gaming initiative.

    Collaboration With Tencent

    In 2017, Tencent acquired 10 percent of Snapchat’s public market shares. The Chinese tech giant has published some hugely popular games like League of Legends and PUBG Mobile, aiming towards the idea that Snapchat may have collaborated with Tencent for the launch of their gaming platform. Snapchat has already been exhibiting interest in AR (Augmented Reality) games since early 2018.

    Also Read: Huawei P30 Pro Leaked In Sunrise Red Colour, Full Details Revealed

    Since the Gaming boom is on the rise, Snapchat could make a substantial amount of progress with its new gaming initiative. The platform may also act as a source of revenue for the company via advertisements. As per reports, Snapchat’s revenue has been on an upward rollercoaster since the past months. Project Cognac may just be a sweet addition to the wide host of features that Snapchat already provides.

     

  • Snapchat Spectacles 2 Launched At US$ 150

    Snapchat Spectacles 2 Launched At US$ 150

    Snapchat has launched the second iteration of its wearable product, the Snap Spectacles V2. This is not the official name of the specs, as Snapchat is just calling them the Spectacles. The new Spectacles cost US$ 150, which US$ 20 more than the original Specs. This time around, the company appears to have fixed many of the issues that users had with the original Spectacles.

    Unlike the original model, the new Spectacles can also take images along with videos. As is with Snapchat, the videos are recorded for 10 seconds, and users can take continuous videos up to 30 seconds. The glasses are water-resistant at shallow depths, and the company says you can safely dive into a pool with them or splash around in the ocean. The case for the glasses, which also acts as a charger, has also been made splash-proof. The case can charge the glasses up to 4 times on a single charge. This time around, the carrying case is also much smaller.

    The carrying case is smaller because Snap has made the Spectacles thinner and lighter. The specs now have a lot of different glass designs and colour options to choose from. For users in the US, there is also support for people who wear polarised glasses. Snap is working with a company called Lensabl to offer prescription and polarised lenses. This will only be applicable when buying the spectacles from Spectacles.com.

    Snapchat also claims that the file sharing process between the glasses and your smartphone is 4X faster. The pairing process remains the same, wherein users have to wear the specs and point them at their Snapcode. Once paired, their smartphone then has to join a Wi-Fi network created by the glasses. Once that is done, the file sharing process begins wirelessly.

    Compared to the original model, the new Spectacles look much more realistic and closer to regular glasses thanks to the new design and colours. The camera is still visible and should alert bystanders but, the yellow ring around it is gone which helps the lens blend in with the specs a bit more. The Snap Spectacles are on sale in three jewel tones: onyx (black), ruby (red), and sapphire (blue). As of now, these are available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France. May 3rd onwards, they’ll be available May 3rd in the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Ireland.

    There have also been reports of Snapchat introducing a dubious feature in its app. Not too long ago, Snapchat went through a complete UI overhaul which, to say the least, did not please its users. Now, it could potentially introduce a feature that might annoy its remaining daily users to a point of no return. Snapchat is reportedly preparing to introduce unskippable advertisements which will only please its stakeholders.

    According to a report by Digiday, citing three sources with “direct knowledge” of the company’s plans, the company will soon insert six-second video ads that will run during select Snapchat Shows. These are short-form video programming from major media companies that run on the platform. The tests for the new advertising format will begin on May 15th. As of now, these ads won’t appear in the app’s Discover feed or in between Stories posted by users.

    Instering unskippable ads on its platform is a telltale sign of the company’s failing business model. It posted its most successful quarter ever in the Q4 of 2017, and still managed to lose about US$ 350 million. It is clear that things are not going well for Snapchat even after recently going public.

    Snapchat was the first was to do what has now become a trend in social media. Personal messages with an exhaustion time limit to adding “stories” in your profile are what made it so famous among teenagers and young adults. However, Facebook, and then Facebook-owned social media platforms Instagram and WhatsApp also adopted that pattern and has been more successful than Snapchat.

    Whether this new advertising format will anyway help the company is yet to be seen. It isn’t clear right now how successful Snapchat Shows is and how many people actually watch it for users to be annoyed with unskippable ads.

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