Snapchat has announced it’s introducing Group Video Chat, as well as the rumoured ability for users to mention their friends in Stories.
Snapchat is taking a few rules from Facebook and Twitter‘s book lately, with a few new features that remind us of the latter, rather than the minimal and often confusing (for many) Snapchat experience.
The first is a new Group Video Chat feature that screams Messenger all over. In the announcement for the new feature, Snap Inc. explains that it wants its Chat to feel “less like texting and more like hanging out.” Bitmoji’s pop up to say hi, “I’m here!” while Chat conversations are temporary. And now, you can “hang out” with up to 16 of your friends at one time (32 if you’re using group voice chat), by tapping on the video camera icon in any Group Chat to start a video chat. Your friends will get a notification to join your Group Video Chat, and once they join, they can still use Lenses, send messages, and more.
Group members who join, will have their name bubble light up above the keyboard of the person who started the call. This way, they know who is taking part in the chat. During a Video Chat, users can also choose to switch between voice or video as well.
Snapchat is also bringing mentions – a feature heavily reminiscent of Twitter. As we reported last month Snapchat users can tag their friends in their Stories by typing @username. Anyone viewing a Snap can then swipe up to see other public Stories from those tagged accounts, add them as friends, etc.
Both of the new features will be available within the next few weeks.
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