Snapchat update adds new voice and video features, stickers, and more for messaging

Snapchat is changing how you communicate with friends in a major way through what it’s calling Chat 2.0. The social network says it focused two years ago on making chatting more like face-to-face conversation with features like letting you know when your friends were present and “listening” to what you were typing, and the latest Snapchat update refocuses on the 1-to-1 chat aspect of the app with new features around voice and video calling plus stickers and more. How you watch Stories is also getting a change in the new update.

Snapchat announced the update which includes a redesigned chat experience in a blog post today:

Today, we’re excited to introduce Chat 2.0. You can start by sending a few chats, and when your friend shows up, start talking or video chatting instantly with one tap. Your friend can simply listen if you want to sing them a song, or watch if you have a new puppy to show them. If they aren’t there, you can quickly send an audio note to say what you mean. And sometimes, a sticker says it best :)

Stickers, which are like flat emoji, were made popular in chat apps like Line and Facebook Messenger, and TechCrunch reports specifically that Snapchat will include over 200 stickers at launch and likely incorporate personalized stickers thanks to the social network’s recent $100 million purchase of Bitstrips in the future. Video and audio features will include the ability to leave visual notes or initiate calls to Snapchat friends at any time.

In addition to chat gaining calling features and stickers, Snapchat also outlined another new feature called Auto-Advanced Stories:

We’re also introducing Auto-Advance Stories, the fastest way to catch up with your friends. When you finish a Story, the next one begins automatically — simply swipe to skip ahead, or pull down to exit!

This means you can easily watch all of your friends’ stories without having to manually tap and start each one; we’re coming a long way from the press and hold days. Lastly, Snapchat says it has updated its privacy policy to make “some things clearer” and prepare for new futures coming down the pipeline.

Snapchat is available for free from the App Store. The latest Snapchat update is rolling out soon.