Snapchat today rolled out a significant update to its iOS and Android apps, bringing with it the ability to replay images a second time and a selection of new filters. The filters include ‘smart’ overlays that can record temperature, time and (rather oddly) speed.
The new replay option lets you view one of your incoming messages again, at a time of your choosing. It can only be used once every 24 hours, so you’ll need to pick and choose which of your messages is replay-worthy. “You only get one a day, so you’ve got to use it where it counts,” CEO Evan Spiegel told The Verge.
The new updates are meant as a small bonus for users (around 70 percent of whom are women) to tide them over until the next major release. “We just decided as a holiday present to the Snapchat community that we would put out a couple things we thought were fun,” said Spiegel.
To get at the new Snapchat features, open up the app’s settings menu navigate to Additional Services. The new update also lets you choose a different font for your on-picture messages and change the number of best friends the app keeps track of. There’s also a front-facing flash option to illuminate your selfies more effectively.
With the filters activated, you can swipe left or right on a photo to see them in action: sepia, vintage, and black and white are the three options available at the moment. Whether these goodies will remain in the next major Snapchat update remains to be seen, but it’s the replay feature that’s most interesting — together with the Stories option the app introduced in October, it suggests that parts of the Snapchat experience might be becoming more permanent.
