5 Things You Might Not Know How to Do in Snapchat

Snapchat, the social messaging app that allows you to send photos and videos that disappear, is here to stay. But even as the app has spread to millions, its updates and newest features aren’t always intuitive for the general public.

Because of this lack of intuitiveness, you may not be aware of how to do some fun things in the app. Below we reveal how to navigate five of Snapchat’s most exciting bonus features.

1. How to live chat.

Visit your contact screen by swiping right. Anyone who’s sent you a text-only message will have a blue chat bubble next to her name. To view the conversation, swipe right on that person’s name. 

From there, you can type whatever you’d like. If you just want to send text, press Send at the bottom of the screen.

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If you want to attach a photo or video, tap the yellow button with the circle on it. The text you send is ephemeral, meaning that it will disappear if you leave the screen. That is, unless you tap the conversation. You’ll know it’s saved once the font changes slightly and it’s highlighted in light gray.

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2. How to live video chat.

When you’re in this space and someone else is live chatting with you, the yellow button below the text box will start to pulse and turn blue.

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If both you and your snapbuddy hold your fingers on the button and don’t let go, your screen will become a live video chat.

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There you have it: the most elusive feature of Snapchat, demystified!

3. How to add filters to your photos.

Before you take your photo, go to your Snapchat settings by tapping the square on the bottom-left corner of your screen.

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From there, tap the settings tool icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. 

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When you arrive on the Settings page, scroll down to the section titled Additional Services and tap Manage.

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You’ll see a list of features you can turn on. Swipe Filters. You’ll have to give the app access to your location in order to get the temperature filter.

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Now go back to your home screen and take a photo.

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Swipe your finger left or right to preview the filters. Some are just different hues; others include temperature, speed, and time.

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When you settle on one you like, hit the send arrow at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

4. How to overlay large text. 

This one also requires you to change up your settings. To do that, return to your Settings page and choose Manage again. This time you’ll toggle Special Text.

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Return to your home screen. Take a photo and then tap the screen. The letter T will appear in the upper-right corner. Tap that, and your keyboard will pop up.

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From there you can type whatever you want, and it will show up in big block letters.

5. And you can use emoji! They’ll be huge, too.

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When you’re all done, you can adjust where the emoji or text is on screen by dragging it with your finger.

And that’s all you really need to know to become a Snapchat master.

Follow Alyssa Bereznak on Twitter or email her here.