The world of copy-paste has gone well beyond desktop computers to the web, and even apps.
When online services thrive by their number of users, there is no doubt that Facebook comes first. Then comes other services, like Instagram, WhatsApp and others. When Facebook started picking on the underdog Snapchat, with Instagram blatantly copying Snapchat's Stories, the social giant started a whole new dimension of copy-pasting.
This time, Snapchat is fighting back, by launching an Instagram-like feature it calls 'Bounce'.
Essentially, its Instagram's 'Boomerang' under a new name.
What the feature does, is allowing users to replay their videos at a specific point. For example, users may want to replay the part where their friend hits the water when jumping into a pool, but there's no big splash.
To use Bounce, users can tap and hold the 'Infinity Loop' icon after taking a video Snap. Then they can see a 'Bounce' slider showing up on the screen which covers the duration of the clip. As noted, the feature is essentially the same Instagram’s Boomerang, but Snapchat's variation gives users more control: rather than having to loop the whole clip, users can just a specific replay point.
Here, users can move the slider across to where they want the Bounce to replay from, and Snapchat will loop over and over from that spot in the playback.
What this means, users can create a playback, and loop the clip at any portion of the their video Snap.
In the case of the friend jumping into the pool, users can relive the moment of "not splashing" as many times as they like.
Whether or not Bounce is a copy of Instagram's Boomerang, it's certainly an interesting addition to the existing Snapchat features; it's just another way for users to creatively customize their Snaps.
If its indeed a copy, Bounce is then not the only feature Snapchat has copied from Facebook. Previously, the photo-messaging app also launched SnapKit, which is a development platform similar to Facebook's developer feature. It allows users to login to other apps with Snapchat.
After all, it was Facebook that started this copy-paste war.
Besides the Bounce feature, Snapchat also announced the ability for users to keep messages in threads for up to 24 hours, as opposed to messages being erased after being read.
“When you send a message on Snapchat, it automatically deletes when opened. Not anymore. The social media app is giving users the option to keep one-on-one chat conversations for up to 24 hours," said a Snap Inc. spokesperson.
Snapchat still deletes messages automatically after being read by default. But with the update, users can turn the feature on for individual chats.
To do so, users just need to navigate to the Chat setting menu within each conversation to turn it on or off.
Bounce and keeping message for a day are minor additions. But still, they are relevant to Snapchat that steps a little further away from its ephemeral content roots. The social media app has been moving in that direction for quite some time, so users are unlikely to be upset.
With Snapchat moving more into line with other social media apps., it's also going towards more "creepy" ad targeting, as Snap founder and CEO Evan Spiegel once called it. Other social media apps are using this strategy with great results. Here, Snapchat copies their strategy to maximize ad potential and boost revenue.