Snapchat introduces Group Video Chat feature and mentions for Stories, aiming to make the app more conversational.
First of all, the Group Video Calls is just like how the name suggest: allowing users to do a group chat. Tap on the video icon to start a video call, and everyone in the group will get the notification telling them that the call has just begun.
The feature comes with support for filters, and allows users to choose whether their want to join or not. They can opt to join but using voice only, or even just respond with text chat messages to everyone.
Up to 16 users can group chat at a time, if all users participating opt for video. This is significantly higher than Messenger which allows 6 and Google Hangout with 10. he number can even go up to 32 if some of the users are willing to go voice only.
In addition to live video chat, Snapchat also rolled out mentions for Stories. What it does, is allowing users to tag each other, much like how they would do on social network (using the '@' symbol).
Tagged users will then be notified when they are mentioned in a Story, and anyone who views a story can use tagged usernames to easily follow that user.
Both features are designed to make Snapchat more appealing, making users to engage and stick longer. The features are also closing the gap between Snapchat and more social-oriented apps like Facebook.
Snapchat has been launching new features to keep up with the competition. Especially when others have blatantly copied its features, and had its design criticized for being too confusing.
