Snapchat reportedly plans to release dev kit

If reports are to be believed, you might be able to see a “Log in with Snapchat” option in non-Snapchat apps. TechCrunch reports that Snap is planning to launch a full-fledged developer platform it’s calling Snapkit. This platform will let third-party developers do things like the aforementioned being able log into their apps with Snapchat credentials, or use Snapchat’s camera (and even share back to Snapchat), or even use Bitmoji avatars in their apps. This move might help bring back the followers it’s lost or even attract new users, especially for those wary of using Facebook to sign into new services now. And since Snapchat asks for less information, it might be less risky if a site with your Snapchat login will compromise too much information. It isn’t clear thought which apps will offer login first, this might be dependent on which companies Snap can convince to partner with them. If this does come true, are you willing to use the “Log in with Snapchat” option?

Location sharing on Snapchat is easier with Snap Maps update

If you still use Snapchat to communicate with friends, you’ll appreciate what Snap has done with the Snap Maps feature. This feature, which by default is turned off for sharing for everyone, can now be shared on an individual basis. This means you can request a location or share yours with specific people in Chat. All you need to do is look for your friend’s name and you’ll find the options to do either there. This will let both of you appear on each other’s Snap Maps. An important note is this only works with bi-directional friends so you can’t request or share your location with a celebrity or influencer you follow.

If you want to remove a friend’s access to your location, you can do so any time within Chat or through Snap Maps. And if a user shared their location but hasn’t opened the map in eight hours, they will disappear from the map. And if you want to disappear yourself, you can just enter Ghost Mode (which sets your location to private).

Source: Mashable

Snapchat brings back chronological feed for some users

After redesigning its app, Snapchat has met the ire of a lot of its users—with over a million of them petitioning the company to revert to its old design. And it seems like they’re finally listening. Some users have noticed they’ve started to see a reverse chronological version of its feed instead of the algorithm-based one. It isn’t clear though if this is a limited-scale test or if this is the start of a wider rollout for all its users.

As a business it makes sense for Snapchat to keep the algorithm-based timeline since it keeps users on longer because they don’t know if they’ve reached the end of their updates. It also supposedly, as other social media platforms have pointed out, floats the “most important” updates to its users. Meanwhile, a chronologically ordered timeline is preferred by a lot of users because it lets them know if they’ve caught up with their feed. But this also means that if you don’t have time to catch up, the frequent posters will overshadow those in your list that update less frequently and you might not be able to see their updates.

Source: 9to5Google

Rihanna calls out Snapchat for ad that makes light of domestic violence

Snapchat just keeps making things worse for itself. The latest controversy it finds itself in involves an offensive ad that had Rihanna taking to her Instagram Story to call out its competition. The ad for the smartphone game called Would You Rather appeared on the service over the weekend asking users if they’d rather slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown, which is seen as a thinly veiled reference to the infamous 2009 incident where Brown violently assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Snapchat has pulled the ad and apologized saying, “The advert was reviewed and approved in error, as it violates our advertising guidelines.” The service says they’ve blocked the app as an advertiser and that the game isn’t affiliated with the service and that it supports the National Network to End Domestic Violence and the group’s executive vice president sits on Snapchat’s Safety Advisory Board. But the singer is having none of it saying in her Instagram Story, “I’d love to call it ignorance, but I know you ain’t that dumb!”

Source: The Verge