Snapchat’s messaging features just got a massive overhaul

The thing that’s always separated Snapchat from all the other messaging apps out there is that is lacked pretty much all of the features that its competitors had, mainly because it’s not really a messaging app. Entertainment and live updates have been Snapchat’s primary focus as it expands beyond ephemeral messaging, but in a massive update released on Tuesday, the app finally brought its messaging features up to par without sacrificing the uniqueness that draws people to it in the first place. Naturally, the ability to add stickers to messages is one of the features that was added.

When we first launched Chat, our goal was to emulate the best parts of face-to-face conversation. Chat 1.0 was all about the joys of being here — when most apps told you when your friend was typing, Chat let you know that your friend was listening. Two years later, we’ve learned a ton about how people talk, but our goal remains unchanged. We want Chat to be the best way to communicate — second only to hanging out face-to-face. Today, we’re excited to introduce Chat 2.0. You can start by sending a few chats, and when your friend shows up, start talking or video chatting instantly with one tap. Your friend can simply listen if you want to sing them a song, or watch if you have a new puppy to show them. If they aren’t there, you can quickly send an audio note to say what you mean. And sometimes, a sticker says it best 🙂 What we love most about the new Chat is how easily you can transition between all these ways of communicating — just like you do in person. When that’s possible, you aren’t texting, calling, or video chatting… you’re just talking. We’ve been working on this redesign for a while — we can’t wait to hear what you think!