Can The New Snapchat Web Replace Google Meet And Zoom?
Snapchat has just launched Snapchat for the web. The web app will allow users to chat, video call, and share snaps with friends via their desktops.
Snapchat for web will initially launch for Snapchat+ subscribers in the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. However, after launching it in these countries, the company intends to roll it out for Snapchat+ subscribers in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, France, and Germany, before releasing it globally.
New features
Snapchat for the web will let users share snaps, send messages and chat through video or regular calls. It will also allow users to benefit from the mobile messaging feature, which includes chat reactions. Snapchat also claims that it intends to bring the lens feature to video calling in the future.
To use Snapchat on the web, users must go to web.snapchat.com and Log in with their Snapchat credentials. It will then require you to complete a two-step verification process on your smartphone by default.
After you open Snapchat for the web, you will be allowed to proceed with the conversations right from where you have left them on the mobile app. Your Bitmoji will show up in chats when you use Snapchat on a desktop to let others know that you are accessing Snapchat for Web.
Additionally, the web experience incorporates a privacy screen that instantly hides the “Snapchat window” if you click away.
Similar to the mobile experience, the message sent over Snapchat for the web will automatically delete after 24 hours. The company also claims that it will impose equivalent measures on smartphone apps, like preventing others from taking screenshots. Though, the company is aware that some users can still take a picture through their mobile screens.
A shift from the traditional approach
While talking to the reporters, a snap spokesperson stated that an average Snapchat caller was spending around 30 minutes daily on calls. Although it claims to be dedicated to being a mobile-first platform, the company says that it decided to take a step further after feedback from the users who wanted to bring the app’s core features to the web.
It raises the question of whether Snapchat launching its platform on the web with features like video calls, group video calling, and messaging is an attempt to compete with Google Meet and Zoom.
Although, it does seem unlikely as the latter are dedicated platforms that are well-established among organizations for business endeavors as they incorporate several other features to facilitate the process, which include meeting transcripts and recordings, virtual backgrounds, chat participants spotlight and screen sharing, etc. Snapchat web, meanwhile, can be an excellent social platform coming to the web.
