Snap today announced the third iteration of Spectacles and it seems this new pair is coming with quite a few changes. For starters, there are now two cameras on Spectacles - one beside each lens. As you might imagine, this allows you to capture 3D content and also lets you give your videos an augmented reality flair as well.
The brands Google, Apple, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Amazon are all on the list. In the F-Secure Data Discovery Portal, you'll be shown the ways and means with which you'll learn all the data these major internet-centric companies have on you - and what you'll be able to do with this knowledge now that it's yours once more. Ever wonder how many recordings of your voice Amazon keeps? Now you can hear yourself in each file, one by one.
Almost a month ago to the day, Snapchat rolled out Snap Games. The feature is pretty self-explanatory from the name alone, as it focuses on small games that can be played with friends from within the Snapchat app. At the time of its reveal, Snapchat announced the first six titles slated for Snap Games, and today one of those titles, Zynga's Tiny Royale, is going live.
This week a report cited multiple sources from Snapchat describing the non-private nature of the apps' back end. Both iPhone (iOS) and Android versions of the app notwithstanding, Snapchat user data (including Snaps) are accessible with a tool called SnapLion. The SnapLion software is supposedly only accessible by Snapchat employees - but as the rules of the internet state: If it's data that exists, it can be shared.
Snapchat's claim to fame has always been its privacy feature, automatically deleting so-called ephemeral messages or after a period of time. Ironically, the social network's biggest criticisms have also been on its privacy practices. Now former employees are coming out, anonymously, of course, to reveal that the company hasn't exactly been exercising due diligence in making sure that a special tool primarily used for law enforcement and fighting abuse isn't being abused by employees themselves to spy on Snapchat users.
Instagram announced the death of another feature this week, not long after rumors surfaced of the axing of public likes. This is just the latest in a line of changes for Instagram, an app and company that's coming closer and closer to its parent company, Facebook. I quit using Facebook a few months ago for all but the rarest family communication - is it time I gave Instagram the boot as well? NOTE: If it weren't clear already, the opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily shared by SlashGear or associated entities.
There's a Snapchat update for Android devices this week, and it's supposed to revolutionize the way Android users Snap. Snapchat said "To Android. Love, Snapchat" on Twitter today, adding, "Enjoy the new, faster Snapchat, rebuilt just for Android." But they've not really fixed a whole lot of anything.
For months now, we've been hearing rumors which claimed that Snapchat would soon turn to gaming in its never-ending quest to attract new users away from the likes of Facebook and Instagram. For a while, it seemed like those rumors weren't really going anywhere, but today that all changed. At the Snap Partner Summit today, the company officially unveiled Snap Games.
For a while now, it's been rumored that Snapchat is looking to implement gaming in some form. While it might be a little strange to think of Snapchat branching out into gaming, it isn't that odd. After all, Snapchat's biggest competitor, Facebook, has been focusing on games with Messenger, so Snapchat may be looking to implement games of its own to even the field. Today, we're learning that the launch of Snapchat games might be right around the corner.
Snapchat at one point became so popular and so big that it managed to unsettle giants like Facebook and Twitter. Its hallmark feature that appealed to its users was the ephemeral and private nature of its Snaps. The company, however, has ironically been dragged into some controversy regarding the privacy and security of its platform and soon it might itself open a can of worms that could become a PR nightmare. According to reports, Snap, Inc. is eyeing making some changes to its Our Story feature to make the last longer, even forever.
Back in October, Snapchat introduced official support for cats, meaning users could apply lenses to their feline pets for stylish cat selfies. A couple months have passed and now the company is rolling out similar support for dogs, the initial launch including a handful of dog lenses with more inbound.
Facebook has probably become one of the most suspected, even hated, tech companies of late. It may have even managed to surpass Google to some extent. But the infamy and exodus that Facebook is now being subjected to is really just the height of a trend that has been happening lately. YouTube stars are burning out or exploding in spectacularly distasteful ways. Twitter’s 280-character expansion got the cold shoulder reception. Tumblr dug its own grave in trying to impress Apple. And Instagram and Snapchat seem to be locked into copying each other. The fire that drove social media’s growth has seemingly been reduced to smoldering embers and users are either jumping ship to other networks or quitting outright. But it’s not for the reasons that you might think.