Snapchat
At the 2024 IAB NewFronts event on Wednesday, Snapchat announced a series of new augmented reality (AR) and machine learning (ML) tools designed to help brands and advertisers reach users…
Snapchat’s ‘My AI’ chatbot can now set in-app reminders and countdowns
Snapchat is launching the ability for users to set in-app reminders with the help of its My AI chatbot, the company announced on Wednesday. The social network is also rolling…
Snap says total watch time on its TikTok competitor increased more than 125%
As part of its Q1 2024 earning release, Snap revealed that total watch time on its TikTok competitor, Spotlight, increased more than 125% year-over-year. Snapchat launched the TikTok-like feed in…
Is TikTok getting banned? Not yet, but you should explore alternatives
As a TikTok ban gets closer to becoming a reality in the United States, it might be time to start thinking about other platforms to adopt early in case you…
Snap plans to add watermarks to images created with its AI-powered tools
Social media service Snap said on Tuesday that it plans to add watermarks to AI-generated images on its platform. The watermark is a translucent version of the Snap logo with…
Snapchat turns off controversial ‘Solar System’ feature by default after bad press
Less than a week after The Wall St. Journal reported on how a Snapchat feature dubbed “solar system” was adding to teens’ anxiety, the company has responded by adjusting how…
Facebook snooped on users’ Snapchat traffic in secret project, documents reveal
In 2016, Facebook launched a secret project designed to intercept and decrypt the network traffic between people using Snapchat’s app and its servers. The goal was to understand users’ behavior…
Instagram is working on a ‘Friend Map’ feature that would let you track friends’ locations
Instagram is developing a “Friend Map” feature, a Meta spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. The opt-in feature, which is similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map, would allow users to see…
Snap is looking to unify user experience across Spotlight and Stories
Snap’s stock plunged 30% on Tuesday after announcing Q4 2023 results that didn’t meet analyst expectations. On the earnings call, CEO Evan Spiegel said the company is taking a few…
Following this week’s layoffs, Snap’s stock tanks 30% after announcing Q4 earnings
Snap is not having a good quarter. Following this week’s news that the company was laying off 10% of its workforce, amounting to hundreds of employees, the company’s stock is…
Snapchat’s parent lays off 10% of workforce in order to ‘reduce hierarchy,’ says company
Snapchat maker Snap is the latest tech company to conduct layoffs with its newly announced plans for a 10% workforce reduction, the company said on Monday. The layoffs would impact…
Snap and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are recalling the company’s discontinued Pixy drone and telling owners to stop using it or charging the batteries because of a fire…
Snap CEO says 20 million US teens use Snapchat, but only 200,000 parents use its Family Center controls
During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on kids’ online safety, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel shared that 20 million teenagers use Snapchat in the United States and that around 200,000 parents…
Microsoft, X throw their weight behind KOSA, the controversial kids online safety bill
On the eve of Wednesday’s Big Tech hearing (both Big Tech and a big hearing — five CEOs are testifying as we speak), Microsoft stepped up to back a controversial…
Spotify’s new Snapchat Lens lets you capture yourself or your surroundings when sharing a song
Spotify is expanding its partnership with Snapchat to introduce a new way for users to share their favorite songs on the social app. A new “Share Track Lens” feature lets…
Snapchat now lets parents restrict their teens from using the app’s ‘My AI’ chatbot
Snapchat is introducing new parental controls that will allow parents to restrict their teens from interacting with the app’s AI chatbot. The changes will also allow parents to view their…
Lawsuit against Snap over fentanyl deaths can proceed, judge rules
A lawsuit blaming Snapchat for a series of drug overdoses among young people can proceed, a Los Angeles judge ruled this week. A group of family members related to children…
Snapchat+ subscribers can now create and send AI-generated images
Snapchat is releasing a few new AI powered features for Snapchat+ subscribers, the company announced on Tuesday. Most notably, subscribers can now create and send AI-generated images based on a…
Snapchat’s end-of-year ‘Recap’ will roll out globally starting on December 13
Snapchat has announced that its annual Snapchat Recap will start rolling out globally tomorrow (December 13). Each recap will offer users a look back on the year by organizing their…
Amazon strikes deal with Snap to let users buy its products from ads on Snapchat
Amazon has entered into a partnership with Snap to allow users to buy its products directly from ads on the social app, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The news was…
Snap confirms small-scale layoffs as part of product team re-org
Snap confirmed that a workforce reorganization has resulted in a small number of layoffs for the app maker, impacting people in product management roles. The layoffs were not directly tied…
Snap’s latest version of its AR development tool includes a ChatGPT API, boosted productivity and more
Snap is releasing a new version of its AR development tool, called the Lens Studio 5.0 Beta, to developers starting today. The new AR development tool is designed to support…
People are turning to Snap Map for firsthand perspectives from Gaza
The world is watching the humanitarian crisis in Gaza unfold in real time through firsthand accounts documented on, of all places, Snapchat. Israel has retaliated against Hamas’ October 7 attack…
Featured Article
PSA: Your chat and call apps may leak your IP address
Your favorite messaging and calling app could reveal your IP address to the person on the other end of a call. And that, essentially, is because most chat apps default to using peer-to-peer connections — meaning you and the person you’re talking to connect directly to each other — to improve the quality of the…
Snapchat has relied on people consuming content on its own app. But now the social network is allowing websites to embed public content, including Lenses, Spotlight videos, Public Stories, and…
Snap shutters its enterprise services division after less than a year
Snap is closing down a division of its company designed to offer its AR expertise to enterprise customers. The initiative, called AR Enterprise Service, or ARES, was announced in March…
Snapchat announced today its subscription service for power users, Snapchat+, has now topped 5 million subscribers.
Snapchat partners with MTV to let users vote for VMAs through Lenses
MTV has partnered with Snapchat to let users vote for a Video Music Awards category through Lenses. The entertainment company is leveraging Snap’s Camera Kit to integrate AR-based experiences into…
Snapchat adds new teen safety features, cracks down on age-inappropriate content
Snapchat today is announcing a series of new safeguards for its app, aimed at better protecting teen users, similar to other efforts introduced earlier by other social apps, like Facebook…
Snapchat is launching a new generative AI feature called “Dreams” that allows users to create fantastical images of themselves in different scenarios, such as a mermaid in a deep-seascape or…
