Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania have found a casual link between social media use, depression, and loneliness. The study looked at Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, finding that the use of these apps resulted in a decrease in one's sense of wellbeing. This is said to be the first study that has found a casual link between social media use and depression/loneliness.
While Snapchat's popularity on mobile has been waning for the last couple of years, the social media app has just made its debut on the desktop in two big ways. First, by releasing the new Snap Camera app on both Windows and macOS, allowing users to apply various augmented reality filters to their selfies, just as they would on a smartphone. Second, and more importantly, this app connects with several streaming and video calling platforms, including Twitch, Skype, and YouTube.
It would appear that the Android developers at Snapchat did something correct in their latest app update. Users of many sorts revealed their love of the new version of the app - the app in Alpha Mode. That version of the app is not available for all users right this minute, but there is a way to attempt to get in on the build as soon as possible.
Despite the fact that the original Spectacles didn't quite find the success Snapchat was hoping for, this year the company decided to press on with the wearable. Back in May, Snapchat introduced Spectacles V2, which came with a few new features to tempt the holdouts who may not have taken the plunge with the first version. Despite these tweaks, Spectacles V2 sported a design that was mostly similar to the original.
The heat that Facebook and Twitter are getting over various issues have put social networks under a microscope. It is also giving their rivals a chance to spin the narrative in their favor. Snapchat, who also recently received a lot of flak for its hugely unpopular UI redesign, is one that definitely needs such a positive spin. And this fledgling Snapchat Alpha hidden deep in the Android app could be the image, not to mention performance, boost it sorely needs.
This week some Snapchat source code - not ALL the code, but some - leaked and appeared on Github. That means more than a couple people had access to said source code - or fragment of source code - for a little while. Certainly long enough to download and keep for one's very own. Mercifully it does not appear that the source code leaked was too particularly important for the privacy of end users.
Snap accidentally revealed some of its Snapchat for iOS source code, the company has confirmed. The exposure resulted from an app update issued this past May; though Snap moved quickly to fix it, someone had already grabbed a copy and shared it on GitHub. Snap says it discovered its code on the website, forcing it to issue a copyright act removal request.
A set of new Snapchat lenses were released today - if all went as planned - with voice controls embedded within them. As Snapchat already had permission to use your smartphone's microphones when prompted, it was simply a matter of using voice recognition software to set off different effects in the Lens universe. Snapchat revealed that these lenses will hopefully be released by the end of the day today.
This week the folks at Snapchat responsible for advertisement monetization are pushing "Storytellers" for social media influencers. It's a program which unites advertisers with the social media titans who would sell their products for them for a fee, in a creative way. In other words - sarcastic hooray! It's time for more advertisements that come to Snapchat users in the form of videos they won't realize are advertisements until it's too late!
Snapcash may have been ahead of its time. Launched in 2014, it got a head start on peer-to-peer payments via social networks. now that the feature is more common, Snapchat will soon be shutting it down. Because while it called dibs on that feature, it hasn’t exactly taken off the way other payment options have. More importantly, it has even become more of an embarrassment to the social network, having become a method to pay for less than innocent content posted on Snapchat.
A fix is in the mix for Snapchat, an app whose servers had issues over the past 24 hours. Those users with Snapchat on either Android or iOS (assuming you're not using the app with some 3rd-party off-the-wall system), can try the following to save their Snap Streaks. The first step requires that you hold your breath, because you're about to turn off the internet!
In the war against other messaging apps (specifically Instagram), Snapchat has recently seen weak user growth numbers. With Instagram rolling out its own versions of popular Snapchat features regularly, Snap is certainly under pressure to make its flagship app stand out. One way it might look to do that could be by launching a new gaming initiative later this year.