Snapchat is making the desktop version of its app, Snapchat for Web, available to its entire global community, the company announced on Thursday. The social network initially launched Snapchat for Web in July to Snapchat+ subscribers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Now, the desktop version can accessed by all Snapchat users.
With Snapchat for Web, you can send messages and snaps, and also chat via video and voice calls. Snapchat for Web also includes access to the mobile app’s messaging features, including chat reactions. Snap previously told TechCrunch that it plans to bring its Lenses feature to video calls in the future.
Image Credits: Snap
To access Snapchat for Web, you need to head to web.snapchat.com and log in with your Snapchat username and password. You’ll then be prompted to complete two-step verification on your phone. Once you open Snapchat for Web, you can continue your conversations from where you left them on mobile. When you use Snapchat for Web, your Bitmoji will appear in chats holding a laptop to indicate to others that you’re accessing the chat via your desktop. In addition, the web version of the app includes a privacy screen that hides the Snapchat window if you click away for another task.
As with the mobile Snapchat experience, messages that are sent via Snapchat for Web are automatically deleted after 24 hours. The company also says Snapchat for Web will prevent people from taking screenshots. At the time of the launch, the company said it was aware that people can still take a picture on the screen from their phone, noting that the product isn’t perfect.
The company previously shared that the average caller on Snapchat spends more than 30 minutes a day on calls. Despite still seeing itself as a mobile-first platform, Snap said it decided that it was time to bring Snapchat’s core features to the web after listening to feedback from users.
For the time being, Snap is focused on bringing the app’s core features to the web and will build out the experience from there. The company plans to bring the app’s other features, including viewing Stories and Memories to Snapchat for Web in the future.
The wider launch of Snapchat for Web comes as the social media platform has been looking to better compete with TikTok and Instagram, both of which can be accessed via the web.
Image Credits: Snap
In addition to making Snapchat for Web available to all users, Snapchat is also rolling out new Chat Shortcuts at the top of the chat tab to make it easy to do things like spot unread Snaps and chats from friends, see missed calls and reply to stories. The company says the shortcuts will also remind you if you need to reply to someone and also show you when your friends birthdays are coming up.
Snapchat is also launching a new “Question Stickers” feature to let users ask questions in their stories in an AMA-style. You can use the feature to do things like ask your friends what you should wear to school and what you should have for dinner. It’s worth noting that the new feature is similar to Instagram’s question sticker.
The company says these new features are available now or coming soon.
Snapchat for Web is now available to all users worldwide by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch
