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IT’S ONE OF THE most popular apps out there, and Snapchat’s growing popularity means it fast becoming the app of choice for those always on their phones.
Almost a quarter of Irish adults have an account and 68% of those use it daily, meaning you will find enough people to follow.
But if you want to try it out but you’re not sure how to get started, here’s a quick guide to help you out.
Snapchat, which is available on iOS and Android, allows you to share photos and videos with friends.
The hook is anything you post will expire, from as quick as one second to as long as 24 hours. If you send a photo to a friend, they only have a few seconds to look at it before it’s gone for good.
If someone posts an image or video to My Story, it will be viewable for 24 hours before it disappears.
The app does allow for creativity thanks to the inclusion of paint, text, filters, and emojis. You can insert them on photos and videos and how people use these tools is one of the app’s greatest strengths.
There are four sections to keep in mind. The home screen is the camera itself but if you swipe in different directions, you can access different menus.
Main screen: Camera
Swipe top to bottom: Profile
Swipe right to left: Stories and Discover
Swipe left to right: Private snaps and chat
Taking a photo or recording a video works the same way as any other camera app. Tap to take a photo or hold down to record a video.
If what you’re trying to capture is too dark, a moon icon should appear in the top right-hand corner beside the flash icon. Tapping it will brighten up the scene.
The bottom corners contain icons for private snaps and messages (left) and Stories (right). While you can tap on them, they tell you when a new message or story has arrived.
Once you’ve taken a snap, you can do a few things with it.
Text: tapping this will allow you to add text. Tapping the T symbol again will make the text bigger or smaller. When you’re finished, you can move the text by holding down or resize/rotate it by pinching the corners.
Draw: allows you to paint over a photo using different colours. Text will appear in front of it, making it useful as a background.
Emojis: hold down on one and drag it to where you want it to be. You can resize them as well so they better fit the context.
Filters: Swiping left or right will cycle through them. Some will be location or holiday specific (eg. if you’re in Dublin, a logo for the city will appear).
If you’re using the selfie cam, press and hold on your face to bring up selfie lenses. You can also do the same with the rear end camera.
And at the bottom, there are additional options.
Download: if you want to save it to your camera roll, you can do so by tapping the icon.
Time: if you’ve taken a photo, you can set how long a photo can be viewed for. If you’ve recorded a video, this will be replaced by a mute on/off icon.
Add to story: this is a quick way to add your snap to My Story.
When you’re happy, you can hit the arrow icon at the bottom right-hand corner and send it to My Stories (for everyone to view) or choose what friends you want to send it to. You also have the option of sending it to both My Story and friends.
Viewing a snap, either private or public, is just a matter of tapping on the name of the person (in messages) or icon (in stories).
When the snap is playing, the top right-hand corner displays a timer. The inside circle is the length of the snap you’re viewing while the outside shows how long the collection of snaps last.
If you want to skip a snap, just tap on the screen and you will be brought to the next one. If you want to exit, swipe down and if you want to send a private message, swipe up.
When you swipe down on the main screen, you will see your profile’s QR code. Tapping on it allows you to take a selfie or record a selfie video to play whenever anyone sees your code. When it’s captured, it will appear within the ghost symbol.
You can also customise your QR code on Snapchat’s main site, as well as change your password, unlock your account or delete it.
If you see a QR code, you can scan it through the camera screen (home screen). When it’s on the screen, press and hold down on the code. The app will recognise it and ask if you want to add that person as a friend.
The settings screen is here too as well as as the help and achievements screens. You can also add friends here which is done in four ways
Added me: Recent people who added you to contacts.
Contacts list: If you allow it, you can scan your contacts list to see which of your friends are on the service.
QR code: If you have taken a photo of a QR code or captured a screenshot of one, you can scan the image here.
Add Nearby: If a friend is beside you and not on your contacts list, you can both open this up and connect
Any private snaps (photos or videos) will be located here. You can also message friends through this as well. On the left side of every contact, there will be a symbol beside them.
Red box: a photo has been sent.
Purple box: a video has been sent.
Blue box: a message has been sent.
Side triangle: a screenshot of this photo/video has been taken.
If you swipe right on a name, you can bring up direct chat. You can send a picture directly by tapping on the snap icon and if your friend is also online, you can start a video chat by holding down the snap button (the button will be blue instead of yellow).
This is where public stories from your friends are found. You can view any of them by tapping the icon on this screen. It’s broken up into three main sections.
Discover: articles and videos from select publishers like Buzzfeed and Sky News. You can swipe right to left again to bring up the Discover page
Live: events happening across the world. These are curated by Snapchat and use individual snaps to populate it.
Recent Updates: New photos/videos from those you follow.
All stories: All photos/videos from those you follow from the last 24 hours. Each entry will disappear after its time is up.
When you’re viewing your profile/QR code, you will find settings at the top right-hand corner.
Some of the options you can access include:
My account: general details like your name, username, number, email and password are all here.
Additional Services: you can turn on filters, front-facing flash (if it’s available), travel mode (reduces data usage), customise friend emojis and manage/view permissions.
Who can… : decide who can send you snaps or view your stories.
Advanced: this controls notifications. If you are an Android user, you can sign up to Snapchat beta, which will allow you access to new test features before everyone else.
More information: contains support, Snapchat’s privacy policy and terms of service and licenses.
Account details: here you can clear browser data, conversations, manage your blocked list or *whisper it* log out of your account.
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Well done Charlie. Another boost for economic migrants,welfare tourists etc. We are a great little country
@Leo Lalor: most Irish citazens returning home to live here with their foreign wives/husband’s are actually highly skilled. Also the government for once is sorting out immigration paths for those impacted by brexit. Absolutely it will need to be policed properly but it’s making the immigration policy fairer.
@Leo Lalor: you seem to have missed the part where these ‘migrants’ will be working and paying tax. We have an extreme skills shortage in many sectors in Ireland. By your logic all Irish people should only partner with their own kind and if not feck off to their partners country to work. Would that make the Irish person an economic migrant and welfare tourist then? oh it’s so confusing when you put the shoe on the other foot. Oh I get it now there is no logic just prejudice.
@seanmccann: Exactly and having to go through a similar process myself there are plenty of checks carried out for both the applicant and their spouse. It’s not the “one for everybody in the audience” type of thing that some people believe it to be.
@Leo Lalor: The Irish partner will have to show evidence that they can financially support the non eu partner. Over the last 10 years, they were pretty strict on this
@seanmccann: ” Also the government for once is sorting out immigration paths for those impacted by brexit. ”
Brexit has nothing to do with it really.
If an Irish citizen was over in the UK, they are exercising their EU Treaty Rights. While we can not normally use EU Free movement rights while in Ireland (and thus have to rely on Irish immigration law, which has its issues) , in this case, where the Irish person returns to Ireland, after spending 1-2 years in the UK (6 months might suffice), with their non EU partner/spouse, they can invoke EU law.
Why does that matter? Better protections. EU law give the Irish government SFA discretion. You meet the conditions, boom, you get a decision which should be successful and entitled to a quick decision (well, that is what EU says) . Relying on Irish law, a lot of discretion is afforded.
@Leo Lalor: Leo, I’d be grateful if you could share with us how to take advantage of the welfare system without first working, paying tax, paying PRSI etc. You seem to be in the know. Even free dental work would be sufficient. Thanks
@Christy Dolan: look at what Boris is doing with residencey rights in the UK. Many Irish citazens are going to choose to leave as their residencey is no longer gauerenteed. Join the dots.
@LittleBee: and so many on the take little bee. As for logic I never mentioned stick with your own. Open your eyes. Look at the social welfare immigration lawyers bills and housing and accommodation bills for these spongers. I have no problem with people who contribute to our economy. I have a problem with being hammered by the tax man to pay for people who won’t work and no matter what s done for them find fault. We are fools.
@Leo Lalor: totally missing the point again. This is referring to the partners of Irish people who want to return home to work and is specifically so the non EU partner can work as soon as they get here where previously they had to be supported by their Irish partner for up to a year. They cannot claim any benefits as they are non eu in fact they cannot even be considered as a dependent of the Irish individual if they were to claim benefits because our system only considers the income of a de facto partner for means testing but not for the payment of benefits. You know what else is a drain on society …tax evasion and high earners with hot shot accountants finding all the loop holes. But like your arguement that has diddly squat to do with the actual topic in the article.
That’s absolutely brilliant news, if it turns out to be as good as it sounds. At present the most suitable place for me and my Brazilian partner is Australia. We both have PR and enjoy our time here however while I respect the rules etc and understand the need for checks and balances, the thought of coming home to apply and being the sole earner for one year was taking the piss. It was a big off putter on me deciding to come home. This is a big change. Most welcome. I’m sure there’s plenty of us out there who welcome the efficiency.
Why does our government feel the need to have such an open door policy toward immigration?
@Pat Baker: because sometimes people who aren’t from the same country fall in love and get married and they should be allowed to live in the same country as each other. Should we all just never leave the country and never let anyone in and only let Irish people marry other Irish people?
@Sam Harms: Absolutely agree. But it needs to be policed properly to prevent abuse. In many industries worker are internationally mobile. If Irish citizens want to come back home then they and their families should be welcome. I was in a generation where many had to leave to find opportunities to work. Most of these people learned valuable skills and their return to the country enabled the high tech economy. Having seen the hoops they had to jump through to get visas for their spouses was rediclous. It was practically anti family. Also this legislation is coming in as a result of brexit.
@Pat Baker: Its not an open door policy it’s called preclearence. The procedure is the same but the checks are done before you enter the country meaning you have permission to work before you get here or even have a job lined up. It is simply removing the financial burden of waiting a year to get your working visa. It means partners of returning Irish can work and pay tax as soon as they get here. Why would you be opposed to that.
@Sam Harms: ignore him.
@Pat Baker: It’s a sensible policy for realistic scenarios and it’s not the open door policy that you’re making it out to be. There’s plenty of information that would need to be provided for the application to be successful such as proof of a relationship, proof of living together…
@LittleBee: he’s opposed to it because some people see the word “immigration” and the racist, intolerant, bigot switch turns on. They can’t see past that to look at the positive impact that immigrants have on a country, like bringing new skills, paying into the tax system etc.
@Sam Harms: It is so tiresome
@Pat Baker: It is NOT an open door policy. There is pre clearance required. You have to prove the relationship and you have to prove financial ability to support partner.
Before this, you had to apply for a visa for the Non EU spouse (who might need to visa) simply to enter the country. That can take 2-4 months, maybe more. Sometimes you need to appeal.
Once they enter, they then have to make a residency application, which can take anything from 1 week to months.
This scheme seeks to do all in one go, before they come, before they risk over staying after the visa expired.
They still need to prove that they are a legitimate relationship. It is an Irish person bringing home their family member. Hardly the same as some scam artist “asylum seeker” from a safe country .
@Pat Baker: I’m not aware of the government having an open door policy towards immigration, but one reason I can think of, is the various benefits that immigration brings to the country.
In many cases immigrants are already highly educated and highly skilled, as as such help contribute to our skills shortage. Also being highly skilled, and thus highly paid, they’ll also be highly taxed…
@Pat Baker: you mean like the ones that absorbed millions of Irish emigrants over the centuries?
I’ve experience with INIS and there’s no grey area if your papers are not in order forget about a visa.
@Marianne:Has Regina decided whether they need the PSC to apply for the passport?
Anything possible of diluting the anti fg voters who are a rock of sense and are sick of the waste of tax payers money and multiple scandals
Great news. This would have been a not insignificant deterrent to Irish expats who wanted to return home.
Great news. Lot of Irish groups abroad have worked hard for this to be considered. Lot of us Irish have great partners from around the world we met while working abroad, who are highly educated and see Ireland as a good option to raise a family at some stage. No doubt so many can contribute greatly to our communities. This removes some doubts about any move home. Having had my Canadian girlfriend visit home recently who comes from an immigrant family herself she got the greatest welcome from my closest family and friends I could have asked for. Sometimes I forgot how great people at home are. Bigots really are a minority and tend to act as keyboard warriors unfortunately I have to see here online. Some people just have no comprehension of change being positive
Very sensible move by the Government here. Will definitely help reduce the financial stress upon a couple moving back to Ireland where one of the couple is not an EU citizen.
Who makes these decisions
How long will this process take
@Marianne: you’d just have to meet the criteria and provide evidence if I understand correctly
The Irish partner has to be a CSEP holder, not just any one bringing their non EU partner home can apply. Very misleading article
@Caoimhín O Neill: My understanding of that link is that the csep holder is not Irish either and wants to bring their partner. Same as the Australian visa system.
What the journal is referring to is de facto partners of Irish citizens, who, as they are Irish, do not need any special status such as csep or visa to work here. Why would we only want Irish citizens to return if they held a csep?
@Caoimhín O Neill: the CSEP announcement is from April. This is separate by the looks: http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/press-release-new-preclearance-process-to-be-introduced-to-help-non-eea-de-facto-partners-of-Irish
What about refugees from Brexit land?
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