Snapchat is currently a very popular app for social media, but why is it so popular and what makes it special in relation to any other social media app? Why do so many users start using Snapchat and why don’t they look back?
Snapchat revolutionized the world of social media by changing how people use and interact with each over the internet instead of the giants such as Facebook or Twitter. Many people don’t quite grasp the idea behind it – particularly older users, but teens and other general youth are quickly picking it up with great eagerness.
Differences from other social media
Snapchat differs from other social media as not only being a social network but also doubling as a powerful messaging platform. It also cannot be used from a web browser, but instead only downloadable as an app from the Play Store or Apple’s App Store. Snapchat users can talk to friends and other users by sending them photos with snippets of text or short videos. Imagine only texting using images and videos. Recently, actual texting chats and live calling was added to the app to facilitate traditional messaging.
On top of messaging specific users, Snapchat users can also post photos in a more traditional manner, using what is known as a Snapchat Story. These stories can be viewed by all friends added by the user who posts it.
Snaps are deleted by default
The uniqueness of Snapchat revolves around the fact that all video and photo messages are deleted immediately after being viewed. This feature is quite important as people can share photos of their life in the now without having to worry about perfect images, lighting and facial expressions. The photo will be deleted and there are no comments or likes.
Snapchat deletes all images and videos after them being opened, but photos can still be screenshotted. Snapchat notifies the user who screenshotted an image, but it’s up to the user to make sure they don’t share any sensitive pictures.