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Snapchat CEO says that holding down Snaps to View might go away

Speaking at the Code Conference south of Los Angeles this evening, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel revealed that the key Snapchat feature of needing to hold down the display to view a photo or a video will go away in the future. Asked by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg about needing to hold down on the display to view content, Spiegel said that the feature was originally designed to circumvent the lack of a Screenshot API on the iPhone…

Without developer access to the screenshot control, Snapchat used the holding down on the display mechanism to block people from being able to take screenshots of Snapchat photos and videos they were sent. Now that iOS has a Screenshot API, Spiegel hinted that the need to hold down on content to view pictures and videos will go away in the future. He said he doesn’t want to give away any “surprises,” but that the removal of needing to hold down content to view “may be in the cards,” while strongly hinting that this will come.

Addressing the Apple Watch, Spiegel said that the company looked closely at developing a smartwatch app, but that the company will take its time to make something “unique.”

Speaking of the Code Conference, we are here on the scene and will be covering Apple Senior VP of Operations Jeff Williams’ interview tomorrow. That event kicks off at 10:30 AM Pacific time, and we’ll be providing a live blog in the morning. Top image via Recode.

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Comments

  1. Andrew Messenger - 9 years ago

    Oh good, the day I’ve been waiting for–I’ll be able to see peoples food and duck faces without having to hold my finger on the screen.

  2. Rich Davis (@RichDavis9) - 9 years ago

    wasn’t Peter Gregory disappointed in Snapchat’s performance? /s

  3. myke2241 - 9 years ago

    how can one take a CEO seriously when they wear a white undershirt to speak at a conference! can this guy not be bothered to put on cloths to speak in front a audience? Everyone thinks their the next Jobs these days…

    • Is that really what matters? What he’s wearing? He already achieved much more than most of us ever will.

      • You think he’s “achieved much more than most of us”? If your life that depressing? Man, get a girlfriend, fall in love, have kids: your life will be immeasurably richer.

    • …You are fully aware that Steve Jobs wore a t-shirt and jeans every day of his life, right? I mean, FAMOUSLY so.

      Mark Zuckerberg, another huge Silicon Valley success story, where’s sandals with socks!

      I’m not saying I agree with their sartorial choices, but it’s a bit rich to pick on this one guy, when the whole industry dresses like this.

      • Wears*

      • It’s another sign of your country’s weakness: browear. The triumph of the American male slob, glossed over by wealth. Man, you people used to actually stand for something, now it’s just Seth Rogan types all the way down.

      • freediverx - 9 years ago

        I’ll take a Silicon Valley guy in a t-shirt any day over a Wall Street thief in a Brooks Brothers suit.

    • likearabbit - 9 years ago

      How can one take someone seriously when they don’t know the proper usage of their, they’re and there?

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