Snapchat was built on the concept of ephemerality: once a message is seen, it disappears forever. But after the service matures, it thinks that it needed to explore new functionalities.
A major update introduces four creative tools: Limitless Snaps, Looping Videos, a Magic Eraser and the ability to 'Draw With Emojis'.
The most significant is the 'Limitless Snap'. Previously, users could choose to share content for up to ten seconds, or add them to their daily 'story' which refreshes every 24 hours.
These options will remain, but the new infinity option will enable recipients to view contents on a loop for as long as they want. To do this, users just need to select the infinity icon within the timer. With this enabled, the video or picture will continuously loop until it is closed.
"We've all felt the frustration of not being able to fully enjoy a Snap - even after replaying it - and we wanted to give you the option of allowing the recipient to enjoy your Snap as long as they'd like," said Snapchat on its May 9th, 2017 blog post. "After your friend finishes viewing the Snap and taps to close it, it will delete as usual."
It's also worth noting that Looping Videos has made their way to the app. The feature is essentially the video version of a limitless snap. Record a video, tap the looping icon, and it will repeat until friends close the snap. With looping videos, Snapchat is taking a step toward Boomerangs - Instagram's short-form looping video format.
Then there is the 'Magic Eraser' tool which is essentially a redesigned menu for the app's editing tools to "provide a foundation for introducing even more creative tools for making fun Snaps," said the company.
It is like a mobile version of Adobe Photoshop's content-aware fill tool. The feature enables user to erase something within a photo snap. To access it, users just need to select the Scissor tool, then the Star icon to cut the unwanted object to remove it from the snap.
And for last, there is also the 'Draw With Emojis'. The feature allows users to spell out a word out of smiley faces or hearts. Only a handful of emoji are enabled during the introduction in the drawing tool.
To accommodate the new features, Snapchat moves the creative tools from the top of the app to the right-hand side of the snap's preview screen. "These changes allow us to continue evolving the Snapchat service and provide a foundation for introducing even more creative tools for making fun snaps," the company said in a blog post.