How Snapchat is making its comeback: Custom lenses
Believe it or not, last year, some people actually declared Snapchat as a dead app–yes, you heard that right. Snapchat, the app that made us more self-absorbed and allowed us to share bits and pieces of our lives for a solid 24 hours, was slowly losing to its competition thanks to the rise of Instagram and Facebook stories.
However, despite the backlash caused by its competitors, Snapchat remains to stay alive mainly because of Gen Z teenagers who continue to spend a lot of time on the app. Also, there’s one more thing that unexpectedly saved the day–the innovations and modifications made towards the *drumroll* face filters.
The face filters and snap lenses available on the app have come a long way since its inception last September 15, 2015. Because of the popularity of dog, flower crown, airbrushed, and different kinds of filters, even Facebook and Instagram stories were obliged to create their own.
For recent innovations surrounding the snap lenses feature, Snapchat has quietly released some filters that would be activated once you snap a photo of a specific object, person, or activity. Not a lot of Snapchat users know about this. Even I just found out about it when filters such as “Bea’s Cravings” appeared after I snapped a photo of my meal. The entire Snapchat experience is actually very personal and immersive.
Another cool thing about Snapchat filters is that you can now download custom ones too! If you go on Reddit, there’s actually a Snapchat Community Lenses group wherein someone can request for custom filters and another group member actually comes through to provide the requested filter.
