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Snapchat update lets you send Stories to people who don't use the app

They can watch the clips through a new video player on the company's website

Aatif Sulleyman

Tuesday 23 January 2018 15:00 GMT

Pedestrians cross the street below a billboard displaying the logo of Snapchat above Times Square in New York March 12, 2015 (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

Snapchat users can now share Stories with people who aren’t on the app.

The company has introduced a new sharing feature, which you can use to send Official Stories, Our Stories and Search Stories to people who don’t use Snapchat.

They can then watch them through a new video player on Snapchat.com. A link will appear in the corner of screen, directing them to a download page for the Snapchat app.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

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1/17Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Find your friends

When you swipe right on the main camera screen, you’ll come to the Friends page. This is where Stories, Snaps, messages and group chats are, but they’re no longer ordered chronologically. Instead, new Snaps and messages, and any new Stories that Snapchat thinks you’ll be interested in, will sit near top of the Friends page. If you’re struggling to find one of your friends, you can type their name into the search bar at the top of the screen. To make different types of content easier to find, Snapchat is adding three tabs to the Friends page – Stories, Groups and All.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Watch Stories

If one of your friends has posted a Story you haven’t yet watched, you’ll see a circular preview bubble to the left of their name. To watch the Story, tap the bubble. After you watch a friend’s Story, you’ll see a preview of another friend’s Story. You can tap the screen to watch it, swipe to skip it or swipe down to exit. To re-watch a friend’s Story after you’ve already seen it, you need to open their profile by tapping their bitmoji on the Friends page.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Post Stories

You can post your own Stories by taking a picture or recording a video on the main camera screen, then tapping the arrow in the bottom-right corner and selecting My Story. To check out your Story views and delete Snaps from your Story, you need to visit your Profile page. You can find it by going to the main camera page, hitting the profile picture immediately to the left of the Search bar at the top of the screen, and tapping the My Story panel.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Send Snaps

To send a Snap, take a picture or record a video on the main camera screen, tap the arrow in the bottom-right corner and choose your friends from the list. The eight people you interact with most on Snapchat sit at the top of the list.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Discover content

When you swipe left on the main camera screen, you’ll find the Discover page. Here’s where you can access Shows, content from publishers, Stories from people you follow – but aren’t friends with – and Snaps from creators, Snap Map and Our Story. To find something specific in Discover, use the Search bar at the top of the screen. To see less of a certain type of content here, you can tap and hold a tile and hit See Less Like This or Unsubscribe.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Mute friends

You can mute your friends without them realising, with Do Not Disturb. To enable it, just tap and hold the person or group you want to silence, select Settings from the popup menu and hit Do Not Disturb. You’ll no longer receive notifications from that conversation, but you’ll still be able to access it, check any unread messages and Snaps and send your own too.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Shoot longer Snaps

You can record up to 60 seconds of Snapchat footage with Multi-Snap (the previous limit was 10 seconds). All you need to do is tap and hold the circular Record button, and keep holding it for up to 60 seconds. Snapchat will split the footage into 10-second segments that you can edit individually, though your recording will play continuously when you send it to your friends or add it to your Story.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Draw with emoji

You can draw with emoji rather than regular digital brushstrokes by tapping the pen icon after you’ve shot a snap and then hitting the symbol under the colour palette.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Build Geofilters

You can create your own Geofilters, for occasions like weddings and birthdays, or even for places that are special to you. Go to Settings, hit On-Demand Geofilters and choose when and where you’d like it to appear.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Use multiple filters

Once you’ve applied a filter to your snap, tap and hold the screen with one finger and swipe with another to layer another filter on top of it.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Save data

You can reduce the amount of data Snapchat munches through by enabling Travel Mode. Find it by going to Settings and tapping Manage Preferences.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Understand emoji

From here, you can also learn what those emoji that appear alongside your friends’ names mean. You can change the ones you don’t like by tapping them.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Understand message types

It’s also useful to understand what Snapchat’s different-coloured arrows and squares mean, so you’ll no longer be unsure whether you can open a certain message in public or not.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Collect trophies

You can find out how many Snapchat trophies you’ve earned by going to your Profile page and tapping the Trophies button. You can unlock more by trying out new things with the app.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Access Snap Map

You can access the controversial Snap Map, which shows you where in the world your friends are, by pinching the main camera screen. You can also hide yourself from fellow Snapchat users by tapping the Settings icon and enabling Ghost Mode.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Discover new music

You can Shazam a song within Snapchat by tapping and holding the camera screen. Once it identifies it, you can share the song with your friends.

Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app

Get new features early

You can get access to new and experimental features before regular Snapchat users by joining the Snapchat beta. In the Settings menu, tap Join Snapchat Beta.

The feature is currently only available to Snapchat users who have received the update for the new, redesigned version of the app. That update started rolling out at the beginning of the year, but is yet to reach all users.

Snapchat is facing increased competition from Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status – both of which are almost identical to Snapchat Stories – and the company is looking for ways to attract new users.

While Snapchat has 178 million daily users, Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status had 300 million in November.

To share Official Stories, Our Stories or Search Stories with people who don’t use Snapchat, you first have to swipe left on the camera screen, to get to the new Discover screen.

From there, you need to tap and hold a Story tile, select the Share Story option and choose how you’d like to share the Story.

SMS, email and a selection of messaging platforms are available, and you can also copy a link.

“Official Stories help Snapchatters discover and identify interesting Stories more easily. If a Snapchatter has an Official Story, their name will appear under an Official Stories header when you search for them in the Add Friends screen. An emoji will also appear next to their name, so you know they’re the real deal,” says Snapchat.

Official Stories are currently only available to a “small group” of Snapchat users, and if you share one with somebody who isn’t on Snapchat, it will only be available to watch for 24 hours.

“Our Stories make you feel like you’re at an event, festival or celebration anywhere in the world and are hand-curated or automatically created by Team Snapchat. You can find Our Stories by swiping left to the Discover screen and tapping on the Our Story you’d like to watch, or by using search,” says Snapchat.

If you share one with somebody who isn’t on Snapchat, it will be available to watch for 30 days.

“Search Stories are another way to discover user generated Snaps on Snapchat. Stories that appear in Search typically appear in the order of what’s relevant to you, trending, or happening nearby,” the company explains.

“You can also search keywords in Search to see Snaps from the community. Search Stories are algorithmically generated so you can find Stories on just about anything on Snapchat.”

If you share a Search Story with somebody who doesn’t use Snapchat, it will be available to watch for 30 days.

The Independent asked Snapchat if users will be able to share their own Stories with people who don’t use the app in the future.

The company responded: “It’s just Official Stories, Our Stories and Search Stories. Users can share their stories on Snapchat with friends directly, or save to Memories, or to camera roll and then share in other ways.”

Snapchat decided to redesign its app in November, because some users found it difficult to understand and use.

However, the changes haven’t gone down well with some users, who say they’re struggling to find their favourite features.

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