Snapchat launches augmented reality developer platform Lens Studio

Snapchat is finally opening up so outside developers can help it offer infinite augmented reality experiences beyond those it designs in-house. Today Snap launches the Lens Studio AR developer tool for desktops so anyone can create World Lenses that place interactive, imaginary 3D objects in your photos and videos.

But brands, news publishers, and developers will have to promote their own Lenses by marketing their QR Snapcodes that users scan to unlock an AR effect for 24 hours. That's because Snapchat won't display these Community Lenses in its camera unless businesses pay a partnered creative agency to build them a special effect and then buy Sponsored Lens ads from Snap.

The launch could vastly broaden Snapchat's AR entertainment value, helping it to compete with Facebook's own Camera Effects AR platform that launched to all developers early this week. Though for now the platform only lets you World Lenses and not selfie masks, more AR toys will give Snapchat a much-needed boost to sharing and viewing at a time when user growth has slowed to a trickle in the face of Instagram's competition.

Snap already sees one-third of its 178 million daily users play with Lenses each day for an average of 3 minutes, which adds up to 500 years of playtime with AR each day. And that's just with the 3000 Lenses Snap has made itself. With the opening of the platform, Snap's VP of Engineering and camera platform leader Eitan Pilipski tells me "There's something magical about coming back every day and finding that there's a new experience".

By removing its in-house AR design team as a bottleneck through agency partnerships, Snap could scale up augmented reality advertising so it doesn't miss its quarterly revenue target again.

Create, Test, Share With Lens Studio

Starting today, anyone can download the Lens Studio desktop app for Mac or Windows in English. It's a slightly stripped down version of what Snap's own team uses to build AR experiences. It's designed for simplicity so anyone from 2D Photoshop newbies to experienced 3D animators and coders can jump in to making basic image overlays or reactive AR characters.

Developers can build static or animated objects, 2D cutouts, windows into other worlds, floating picture frames, and even 3D objects that react when you tap, look at, or approach them. Developers can get a temporary Snapcode to test their creation on their phones. Then after going through a quick moderation process to make sure the Lens isn't objectionable, developers get a  Snapcode that's valid for a year which they can share via social media, their websites, print materials, or however they want to get the word out.

Snapchat tells me it will have a report button for users who need to flag Lenses as problematic, and a human moderation team will monitor reports and deactivate offending Lenses. It will have to keep a watchful eye, though, as the vividness of AR could make for a big PR scandal if kids start playing with something graphic.

Scan, Unlock, And Augment With Lens Snapcodes

While users can still find the curated assortment of Lenses within the Snapchat camera, they'll now be able to discover Community Lenses elsewhere. By tapping and holding on a Lens Snapcode in view of their camera or uploading a screenshot, they'll get a thumbnail preview of what the Lens does and the option to unlock it. They'll then see the Lens in their carousel in the camera for 24 hours. Tapping a little "i" information button reveals who made the Lens, and users can send one to a friend via private chat so Lenses can go viral.

Pay, Build, And Advertise With Lens Studio Partners

Snapchat has partnered with seven Lens Studio to outsource creation of its AR experiences. Avatar Labs, Fisherman Labs, Haus, Media Monks, North Kingdom, Trigger Global, and Vidmob can be paid to create a Lens in just a few days instead of the weeks it used to take Snapchat's internal team which also required a $300,000 minimum ad spend. Now brands can buy CPM distribution of their Snapchat Lens in the camera app's carousel for an $8 to $20 CPM.

It's a wise move. Back in April I wrote that "Snap's anti-developer attitude is an augmented liability", discussing how filling the real world with AR was too tall of task for Snap to tackle on its own. It needed army of outside developers to assist it, and now it's recruiting that army. The question is whether developers see the audience scale in Snapchat necessary to validate investing time into the platform, and whether Snap provides enough unpaid access to that audience. Because to move the needle on growth, Snapchat needs the AR brainchildren of more than just slimy marketers slapping brands atop the virtual world.

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