Snapchat wants to keep you in its app

Snapchat is constantly under siege by Facebook and we won’t be surprised if this new feature will show up on Facebook, Instagram, and even WhatsApp. Snapchat adds a new functionality to its search bar to encourage you to keep watching. Just type a topic of choice (ex. puppies) and get to see all the videos related to that. The videos that show up there have been added by users who selected the add a “Snap to Our Story” option. Snapchat uses a machine learning algorithm it probably got from its acquisition of search and recommendation app Vurb last year.

By adding this functionality, it’ll entice you to stay on the app longer, especially with the addition of Stories “around me” and local “attractions” that you can check out. It’s rolling out to select cities in the U.S. first but Snap plans to release the experience to more areas. It just won’t say when though.

Source: Mashable

Snapchat brings Bitmoji shortcuts to both iOS and Android users

A few days ago we saw Snapchat testing out Bitmoji widgets of your friends for the Android home screen. But it looks like the feature isn’t limited to Android users anymore. In fact, Snapchat has taken the feature out of testing and into the hands of its iOS and Android users. For those using iPhones, though, you can only see the widget from the Today screen. If you’re on Android, well, then you can see that from your home screen like how it was done in the tests.

Source: The Verge

Snapchat for Android tests out Bitmoji widgets of your friends on your home screen

It isn’t a secret that iOS users seem to have gotten the best Snapchat has to offer. But it looks like Android users are getting the attention they crave. Spotted in the beta version of the app, Android users can place Bitmoji widgets of their friends on the home screen. Of course, there’s a need for your friend to be on Bitmoji, too. The Bitmojis on the screen serve as shortcuts to chat with that specific friend, which is pretty cool. There is no word though if it’ll be coming to iOS and if it’ll be reaching a wider audience but we’re hoping that it would.

@samsheffer HUGE @SNAPCHAT ANDROID UPDATE: You can place widgets on the home screen of your friends. They must have Bitmoji. #SnapchatBeta pic.twitter.com/135dKXgBW7

— MontrellOThigpen™ (@mot427) March 10, 2017

Source: The Verge

Snapchat now has over 500 million installs on Android

Image credit: Android Central

It comes as no surprise that messaging app Snapchat crossed the half a million mark of installations on Android. And this landmark is reached a couple of days after Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, went public. It isn’t a secret though that development on Android has been a bit subpar when compared to the app’s development on iOS. Thankfully, the recent IPO filing of Snap Inc. acknowledges this shortcoming. And it might bring better features on Android, finally.

As mentioned in the IPO: “The majority of our user engagement is on smartphones with iOS operating systems. As a result, although our products work with Android mobile devices, we have prioritized development of our products to operate with iOS operating systems rather than smartphones with Android operating systems. To continue growth in user engagement, we will need to prioritize development of our products to operate on smartphones with Android operating systems. If we are unable to improve operability of our products on smartphones with Android operating systems, and those smartphones become more popular and fewer people use smartphones with iOS operating systems, our business could be seriously harmed.”

Source: Android Police