In case you were worried about not having enough ways to communicate with people, Snapchat has been upgraded to include real-time text and video chatting.
To use the text-messaging feature, users simply swipe right on a friend’s name to start chatting. As always, messages will disappear after being viewed, but users can tap the screen to take a screenshot. If your friend is actively reading your text messages, you can tap and hold down the blue button to begin a video chat.
Snapchat will alert you when a friend is “Here,” or online. The app also allows you to flip between the front and rear cameras and send a one-way video stream.
“Until today, we felt that Snapchat was missing an important part of conversation: presence,” said Snapchat in an official blog post. “There’s nothing like knowing you have the full attention of your friend while you’re chatting.”
Check out this video to find out more about Snapchat’s new features.