Snapchat, facing not-so-great stock performance in the months following its overhyped IPO, is redesigning its app to make it easier for people to use. The big change hasn’t happened yet, but the company did recently introduce a new feature. Now, if you take a picture of something — like a pet, a beach, a concert stage, or a steak — the app will be able to identify what it’s looking at and offer you a custom, related filter.
The filters work using Snap’s patented object-recognition technology, Engadget reports. From my limited and unscientific testing, I thought it worked pretty well. A picture of my dog prompted a “Tricks for Treat” option, while a picture — taken from Google Images on my computer screen — of a hot dog yielded one reading “Nomz.” It’s unclear if this will be enough to stop the ongoing exodus from Snapchat to Instagram Stories, but it’s fun enough in the meanwhile. Think of all the subway good-boy snap possibilities.
