Just ask any teen and you would know that Snapchat is one of the most popular apps among youngsters. And there’s no surprise here as Snapchat, with its flamboyant logo, eye-catching app design, and trendy features, is built for captivating this age group.
Thanks to features such as Bitmoji avatars, disappearing messages, and some iconic Snapchat filters, this app captures the attention of social butterflies effortlessly.
If you are a pro user or just starting out with the app, there are several Snapchat hacks that can make life easy for you. Here’s a list of the coolest Snapchat tips and tricks you should know.
7 Snapchat Tips & Tricks For Beginners And Pros
Look up the song playing right now
It is a stroke of sheer luck when we find our new favorite jam playing at a party or inside a mall. And, the agony of liking the music but not knowing the title is definitely annoying. In these cases, many people try looking up music instantly using a dedicated third-party app such as Shazam. However, thanks to Snapchat’s built-in Shazam feature, you can get rid of the extra app and simply use Snapchat to look up songs playing around you.
For this Snapchat trick, just tap and hold the camera screen (do NOT hold the camera button as that will start recording a clip). After scanning for several seconds, Snapchat will show you the song information.
Furthermore, you can revisit the songs you have Shazam-ed in the past by going to Profile icon > Settings > Shazam.
Setting up quick access for your favorite Snapchat games
Snapchat is a gold mine of fun things to do and the worst enemy of boredom. This theme is evident throughout the app, especially with the inclusion of built-in games and other fun apps aka “Minis” that you can try out with your Snapchat friends.
Sometimes, navigating to and launching your favorite Snapchat games and Minis can take more time than it should. As a convenient option, the app allows you to create shortcuts for them.
To create a shortcut to your favorite games and apps, swipe down on the camera screen. Then, look for your favorites from the options near the top and drag and drop them to the empty slots below. It’s worth noting that you can have 5 shortcuts at the most. Finally, you can quickly access these shortcuts by swiping down from the camera screen at any time.
Calculating a math problem
Let’s admit it, math isn’t many people’s forte. There are times when you struggle with the most basic math problems simply due to lack of time or focus. If you are feeling too hungover on tiredness — or anything else for that matter — you can rest assured. That’s because Snapchat can also solve math problems, so you don’t have to.
To use this Snapchat trick, once again, tap and hold on the camera screen until the solution shows up in the results (takes anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds based on your handwriting and internet speed).
Identifying details about food nutritional value, dog breed, plant breed, and even car models
By now, you must have realized that the camera screen is the hub of various resources. Some major bonuses that come with Snapchat’s camera screen scan include finding details about almost anything including food items, plants, dogs, cars, etc.
The method to scan any object to find more details about it is the same as before. You just have to open your camera screen on Snapchat and then press and hold until results show up.
Apply special effects right after clicking a picture
While it is apparently obvious, Snapchat has a ton of special filters using which you can click interesting pictures — it is Snapchat’s de facto USP. But, even when you have already clicked the perfect picture on Snapchat but forgotten to apply a suitable filter, there’s still a way to enhance the shot. You can further elevate the selfie you clicked using Snapchat Lenses.
Snapchat Lenses are apply special effects to your pictures and give them a distinguished look. To use Lenses, just click a picture using Snapchat’s built-in camera and click on the magnifying glass near the right edge of the screen. After that, you can go through the different filters and tap to apply your favorite one.
Create custom GIFs starring you and your friends
Ever wished you and your BFF could be in one of those cool GIFs that’s viral on the internet? That wish has been granted by Snapchat’s Cameo feature. This feature lets you take a selfie and put your face on funny and cool GIFs. If your friends have used Cameo as well, you can use GIFs that feature both of you lovely Snapchatters.
To enable this, just go to Profile icon > Create Cameos selfie > align your face in the frame > Create Cameo selfie > select body type, then Continue. You’ll be prompted if you want to enable Cameos with friends, choose accordingly and tap on “OK.” That’s it.
Now, you can enter a chat, click on the emoji icon (next to the typing space and mic icon) and tap on the icon that depicts a smiling face with a star.
Create stickers with a custom image
Similar to GIFs, another cool part of social media apps is stickers. When used with picture stories, these attractive images can really help you express your mood without even typing a word. Interestingly, you can create your own sticker on Snapchat with ease.
For making your custom stickers, just open the built-in camera and click a picture of the object or person you want to use in the sticker. Afterward, you have to select the scissors tool from the options near the top-right of the screen. Then, draw around the object to select it or use one of the two selection shapes available. Finally, tap on “Done.”
Now, your freshly created sticker will appear on your picture. Moreover, you can access it any time by clicking on the sticker button (right above the scissors icon you used to create the custom sticker) and viewing the section marked by the scissors icon.
So these are the lesser-known Snapchat tips and tricks that should give you an edge over the app. While you are ready to rock the yellow app, why not check out Snapchat tutorials on how to change your username, how to send GIFs to your friends, and how to know if someone blocked you.
FAQs
While Snapchat is safe for everyone to use, it should be noted that there have been many cases of harassment on the app. So, it is a given that Snapchat users, especially those who are underage, should only add people they know and trust on the platform.
Privacy violations and online harassment. Although Snapchat texts/images are usually temporary, users on the receiving end can still save them in their gallery without the sender’s permission. In the past, there have been cases where these private images have been leaked from the receiver’s phone. So, it is strictly advised to stay away from sending sensitive images and videos or do so without revealing your identity.
