Snapchat - page 5

Tucked away in a recent Snapchat update for Android and iOS, users of the app will notice a new option that allows for the quick and easy sharing of a URL that links directly to their user profile. The link, which can then be copied or shared anywhere a link can be tapped or clicked, takes Snapchat users directly to the app on mobile, and then into the linking user’s profile.

Snapchat pushed updates to both of its primary applications, Android and iOS, a couple of days ago but made no mention of the new URLs.

We aren’t going to pretend we’re perfect, but that doesn’t mean we have no appreciation for the mistakes of others. They make us feel better about our own glaring flaws, and they also make for some good fodder for “weirdest of 2015” news roundups.

This year, we saw some really impressive corporate blunders as well as some head-slapping moments from Apple fans.

The latest quarterly report from antivirus company AVG has outed the battery-killingest, storage-hoggingest apps currently available.

Some of the culprits are unsurprising, but a few might be murdering your phone’s performance without you knowing, like some kind of ninjas that have somehow taken app form. All of this and more happens in “Appsassins,” the screenplay I’m pitching to SyFy.

But here are the biggest offenders, because that’s really the more important information here.

The Apple-owned Beats brand has become the second company (after Fox Studios) to sponsor a Snapchat lens, with a one-day-only Black Friday deal that lets you animate your face bopping along in time to rapper Drake’s new song “Big Rings.”

Videos on Snapchat are getting some new special effects today with a big update that adds ‘speed modifiers’ to the app’s toolset on both iOS and Android.

The new speed modifiers are basically video filters that allow snappers to add slo-mo, fast-forward, or rewind effects to a video. If you’re on an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus the update is even better, bringing 3D Touch support to the app for the first time.

Disappearing photo and video sharing app, Snapchat, has just updated to include a couple of great new features, including a data-reducing Travel Mode, an emoji button called Sticker Picker, and a way to see who’s viewing your posts, called Stories, in the app itself.

Yesterday, we reported that Snapchat was starting to lock out jailbreakers.

Today, the popular video messaging service is locking out users who are on an out-of-date version of the app. It’s a move aimed at jailbreakers that’s going to catch some people who are slow to update in the crossfire.

Do you jailbreak? Might want to watch your Snapchatting, then. The video messaging platform is starting to lock out users who uses Snapchat-related jailbreak tweaks to hack the core features of the service.

In a few years, “Sorry, I don’t have any cash on me” may no longer be a good enough excuse to give that chronically money-strapped friend when they come around asking to borrow a few bucks.

That’s because a newly released Apple patent suggests that the iPhone maker may be getting into the person-to-person payment game in future versions of its hardware.

Developers have been eager to capitalize on the Apple Watch hype, with thousands of apps already available, but according to Snapchat’s CEO, it’s going to be a long time until you’re able to check your snaps on Jony Ive’s timepiece.

The remote camera shutter and viewfinder is one of the most useful Apple Watch features, but there’s just one problem: It only works with the default camera app.

Apple hasn’t opened up the remote shutter API to developers yet, however, there’s still a way to turn your Apple Watch into a remote shutter for apps like Snapchat and Camera+. Instead of using the remote shutter app, you can actually use the volume slider in Music glance to snap pictures with your iPhone.

It’s super easy. Just follow these steps:

Snapchat plans to start showing up in more places than just your iPhone. After introducing Snapcodes for easily adding friends from within the app, the social network is now letting users customize and print their own branded ghosts to share in the real world.

The greatest Apple mystery of the last few years hasn’t been the next iPhone or Apple Watch, but a man named Scott Forstall.

Since getting kicked out of Apple in late 2012, the former head of iOS and friend of Steve Jobs has had absolutely no profile in the tech scene whatsoever. He rarely even gets spotted in public. It’s like he’s fallen off the face of the earth.

Until now.

Snapchat used to have a “Best Friends” list that showed you who each of your friends snapped with the most. It was a weird, slightly stalkerish part of the app that was removed last year.

Now Snapchat has brought back a way to see top friends, but in a more fun way that relies totally on emojis (and won’t destroy your relationships). Here’s how to decode what the new Snapchat emojis mean.

Police in Somerset County Maine have finally apprehended a man wanted for charges of burglary after the suspect, 24 year-old Christopher Wallace, made a crucial mistake after weeks of evading the cops: he snapchatted his hiding spot.

A warrant for Wallace’s arrest had been issued in connection to the theft of propane and wood stoves that were recovered at his home in February. Wallace hid for weeks after it was made known publicly that authorities were searching for him. Eventually he got cocky posted a message of Snapchat that he was back home.

Friends tipped off the sherif’s department that he was at house, which quickly brought officers to his door. They didn’t find him at first, but then Wallace decided to double-down on the stupidy and posted that the cops were looking for him and that he’s hiding in the cabinet.

More tips came in and the cops eventually located Wallace and posted this celebratory message on Facebook:

Snapchat is taking Stories, its concept that lets you see the world through your friends’ perspectives, to a new level today. By collaborating with the likes of Vice, Comedy Central, Yahoo News, and National Geographic, Snapchat’s new Discover feature brings you the news in the form of a story.

The ephemeral social network says it’s taking aim at social media companies who “tell us what to read based on what’s most recent or most popular” (like Facebook).

Discover stories are created by editorial teams and refreshed every 24 hours. Unlike Stories, Discover content also supports long form journalism, making it a huge threat to Facebook and Twitter as the top place to find and read your news.

Here’s how to use Discover:

Snapchat users, rejoice! The wait is over: the popular video messaging app has finally been updated to support the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Snapchat has become the go-to method for sending naughty nudes to your friends, but with a big update released today, the app is hoping you’ll start using it to send something a little more valueable: money.

Snapchat announced today that it’s partnering with Square to bring Snapcash to its ephemeral messaging platform, giving the ability to wirelessly transfer money directly from a bank account. And all it takes is a single snap.

The company even made a whacky 60’s style commercial to promote the new feature:

While looking at social media on your favorite iOS devices is smooth, making the transition to the Mac just isn’t quite the same. Though there are plenty of top-notch applications for looking at Twitter or Snapchat on iOS, the social media gems on Mac can be hard to find.

In today’s video, we’ll show you the top social media apps for Mac so you can transport the fun from iOS to your desktop in the most efficient ways possible. Here’s how to enjoy the fun of Snapchat, Instagram and more, all on your Mac by downloading some killer social apps.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

Watch today’s Cult of Mac news roundup for details on how one popular group of protesters are picketing Steve Jobs and Apple itself. Plus, get info on a new Snapchat clone from Instagram, news on unlocking your iPhone and even how one KickStarter is turning MacBooks into huge touch-enabled tablets.

Of course, don’t forget to subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube and catch all our latest videos.

Snapchat is currently in talks with investors over a round of funding that could value the company at a mind-blowing $10 billion, according to sources for Bloomberg. That’s a little over half the $19 billion Facebook paid for WhatsApp, but double the $5 billion market cap currently held by BlackBerry.

Instagram has accidentally leaked that it’s planning to launch a thunder strike against Snapchat with a new “one tap photo messaging” app of its own called Bolt.

A banner announcing the new messaging app was accidentally posted for some users on Android to see last night, but was taken down about 15 minutes after it appeared. The Free link button on the banner directed users to the Google Play Store, but the page was not available.

Today Snapchat introduced Geofilters, which are location-based stickers that can be quickly applied to a snap by swiping once to the left after you take a picture. The feature could finally provide a revenue model for the startup that turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook.

Facebook’s new Slingshot app takes aim at Snapchat by putting a new spin on photo-messaging. Instead of simply relying on disappearing pictures and videos, Slingshot promotes back-and-forth conversations.

How does it work? You must unlock “slings” you receive before you can look at them. You do this by sending your own sling to the sender. See how the just-released Slingshot app works in today’s quick-look video.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

Snapchat’s pivot from a sleazy app for naughty pics to an actual messaging platform to rival WhatsApp is happening faster than its scandalous photos can disappear and its newest feature is going to make the party even bigger.

Today Snapchat announced its adding a new “Our Story” feature that will allow users who are at the same location to share snaps with each other, or view an event from afar so you can feel like you were totally there with your friends, 10 seconds at a time.