Zooming in has never been easier, thanks to Snapchat’s new single-swipe zoom feature

By Marc Schenker Published May 14, 2015

Fans of Snapchat who have been clamoring for some extra video shooting options in the app have finally got their wish. The company’s latest update allows users to zoom in while they’re shooting video.

Everyday users of smartphone cameras have been used to being able to zoom in while shooting video with just a simple pinch of their screens. Although there’s really nothing to this feature, Snapchat users will have to zoom in using a special technique.

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According to Business Insider, all it takes is a bit of dexterity and practice — and also the latest version of the app, which is 9.7.0. Once you’ve got the new version, you simply open up the app and begin shooting video by holding down the record button. As you keep recording, drag any other finger up the screen to zoom in. Conversely, drag your finger down the screen when you want to zoom out of a shot.

You can now zoom while shooting video on @Snapchat. Just use a 2nd finger to drag up and down, no pinching. pic.twitter.com/Pbjaqc82Ib

— Josh Constine (@JoshConstine) May 12, 2015

Note that you don’t need to pinch the screen to zoom in or out, which you traditionally have to do with smartphone cameras. This is part of Snapchat’s aim to make its updates as user-friendly as possible.

If you’re looking for an actual demonstration of this new feature in action, you’re in luck. TechCrunch senior writer Josh Constine gave his Twitter followers a brief example of how they can use it. Of course, you may choose not to zoom in and out quite as fast.

This latest update comes on the back of the app’s big update just last week, in which it allowed users to send clips to friends in an effort to build excitement for its Discover feature. The Discover feature lets media companies like CNN actually post their content to a section of the app in the form of short videos and articles. After some early buzz and interest, viewership for the feature is down by a remarkable 30 to 50 percent in just three months.

Regardless of what you think of Snapchat’s latest moves, iOS users can download the latest version from iTunes, and Android users can download the latest version from Google Play.

Former Contributor

Marc Schenker is a copywriter who's an expert in business and marketing topics like e-commerce, B2Bs, digital marketing and…

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