Skip to main content

'Ghostbusters' lens for Snapchat lets you use front, rear lenses of phone's camera

ghostbusters lens snapchat screen shot 2016 07 at 1 09 53 pm
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The Snapchat-obsessed among us can now take our love to the next level. Because really, why only use one camera to take a snap when you can use two? Thanks to a new Ghostbusters-themed sponsored lens from Sony Pictures,” eager selfie-takers can use both the front- and rear-facing lenses on their smartphones to take their photos. Bust ghosts using the front camera, and Slime yourself (or anyone else) when you switch to the rear. You’re not gonna call the Ghostbusters — you’ll Snapchat them.

Sony is the first to take advantage of the dual lens feature on Snapchat, even as sponsored lenses rise in popularity. By allowing brands to partake in the communication between Snapchat users, the app gives advertisers a chance to insert themselves in an interactive and personal way. With a variety of real-time visual effects and sounds, different companies can add their own flavor to users’ snaps.

“Whether its dog ears or flower crowns, face-swapping or alien eyes, Snapchat’s popular portfolio of lenses are highly engaging pieces of content that fans truly love,” said Elias Plishner, executive vice president of Digital Marketing for Sony Pictures. “We are very excited to be the first-ever partner to introduce this new type of lens to the market. These lenses are fun and creative extensions of Ghostbusters and we think Snapchatters will have a great time using them.”

If you elect to use a Ghostbusters lens, you’ll hear the famous theme song from the film, and you can decide whether your selfie will feature a proton pack or a headful of slime. The release of the new lens comes just in time for the remake of the classic film, whichhits  theaters July 15 with an all-star cast, including Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
X (formerly Twitter) returns after global outage
A white X on a black background, which could be Twitter's new logo.

X, formerly known as Twitter, went down for about 90 minutes for users worldwide early on Thursday ET.

Anyone opening the social media app across all platforms was met with a blank timeline. On desktop, users saw a message that simply read, "Welcome to X," while on mobile the app showed suggestions for accounts to follow.

Read more
How to create multiple profiles on a Facebook account
A series of social media app icons on a colorful smartphone screen.

Facebook (and, by extension, Meta) are particular in the way that they allow users to create accounts and interact with their platform. Being the opposite of the typical anonymous service, Facebook sticks to the rule of one account per one person. However, Facebook allows its users to create multiple profiles that are all linked to one main Facebook account.

In much the same way as Japanese philosophy tells us we have three faces — one to show the world, one to show family, and one to show no one but ourselves — these profiles allow us to put a different 'face' out to different aspects or hobbies. One profile can keep tabs on your friends, while another goes hardcore into networking and selling tech on Facebook Marketplace.

Read more
How to set your Facebook Feed to show most recent posts
A smartphone with the Facebook app icon on it all on a white marble background.

Facebook's Feed is designed to recommend content you'd most likely want to see, and it's based on your Facebook activity, your connections, and the level of engagement a given post receives.

But sometimes you just want to see the latest Facebook posts. If that's you, it's important to know that you're not just stuck with Facebook's Feed algorithm. Sorting your Facebook Feed to show the most recent posts is a simple process:

Read more