Snapchat Gains Shazam Integration, Group Chats, and Sticker Creation

Snapchat has gained Shazam's music recognizing abilities in its camera screen, which Shazam says is an even easier way to discover new songs and send each one to friends as Snaps. To use the new feature, all users have to do is press and hold anywhere on the Snapchat camera screen when music is playing nearby to begin the Shazam process. From there they can dig deeper into more info about the song and artists thanks to a new Shazam card, and send the recommendation to friends.

Today, Snapchat also announced a new group chat feature that the company says is meant to help family members stay in touch over the holidays. Up to 16 people can join in on the group message, and each one will be deleted after 24 hours, just like Snapchat's normal Stories section. Names of every participant are listed at the bottom of the window, so users can also tap one and jump into a one-on-one chat at any time.

Groups can be created while sending a Snap, or when you’re making a new Chat. When your friends are present in a Group Chat, we show their name at the bottom of the Chat. Simply tap their name to start a 1:1 Chat, and then easily return to the Group in one swipe! We call this Quick Chat, and it’s the fastest way to keep the conversation going with one friend without spamming the entire Group.

Two new "Creative Tools" will allow Snapchatters to create stickers from their own Snaps, using Scissors on the Preview Screen to cut a section of a picture out and turning it into a reusable sticker. A new Paintbrush tool will be available in the Memories section of the app and Snapchat says it "turns a Snap into an artistic masterpiece."

The update is available now for the iOS Snapchat app. [Direct Link]