Since its launch in 2011, Snapchat has only been accessible via mobile devices. On your iPhone or Android device, you might download the Snapchat app to share Stories with friends and send ephemeral messages and photographs. To allow customers to connect with friends from their PCs, the company never released a desktop app. In order to access the Snapchat Android app on our laptop, we had to rely on workarounds like emulators. With the introduction of Snapchat+, you are no longer need to do that, and it is now a thing of the past. Yes, the firm recently introduced its paid Snapchat Plus subscription, and Snapchat for Web is undoubtedly its most helpful feature. It’s now simple to start using Snapchat on a laptop’s web browser, which is fantastic for its close to 350 million users. Having said that, if you’ve been looking for a solid method to utilise Snapchat on a laptop, continue reading.
Get Snapchat App on PC and Laptop (2022)
In this article, we’ll first go through Snapchat Plus and how it grants access to the laptop version of the app. So let’s get started right away.
Pre-Requisite for Using Snapchat Web
As you may have already guessed, a Snapchat+ subscription is required to access Snapchat Web and use the mobile messaging service on a laptop browser. Currently, TheSnapchat+subscription service is only available in a certain number of countries; the article linked provides a list of the 25 supported nations.
How to Get Snapchat+ Subscription
Now, let’s learn how to sign up for the Snapchat+ subscription on your iPhone or Android smartphone before we discuss how to use the Snapchat online app and all of its features. Although the processes are the same on Android as well, we will demonstrate the process using an iPhone.
1. Launch the Snapchat app and tap the Bitmoji or profile symbol in the top left corner.
You will see a Snapchat+ banner beneath your Bitmoji avatar on the profile screen. Toggle this banner on. If the banner isn’t visible, hit the Settings icon to reveal the Snapchat+ menu item next to your email.
3. On the following screen, choose your membership length and then click the bottom-left “Start 7-Day Free Trial” button. You now only need to finish the payment process to successfully purchase a Snapchat Plus subscription.
A number of unique features, including an exclusive badge, numerous app icons, ghost trails, tale rewatch count, and more, are available with the monthly subscription. The Snapchat for Web experience, which lets you use the messaging app through a browser on your laptop or desktop, has to be the highlight.
How to Use Snapchat on Your PC or Laptop
It’s time to discover how simple it is to sign in and use Snapchat on a Mac or Windows computer. The steps are as follows:
1. Start by visiting Snapchat on the web in Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. then sign in using the app’s login information. Only Chrome and Edge are supported by the web app, and I have only used Edge.
2. After that, you must finish two-step verification and use your cell phone to confirm the web login request. A notification stating “Are you trying to access Snapchat from a browser?” will appear on your phone. For your laptop, tap this notification and choose Yes to log into Snapchat.
We configured Snapchat for the web on both an iPhone and an Android phone. However, the Android device was used for the majority of the testing. This means that you will soon see screenshots from Android devices.
3. This is how the Snapchat Web interface looks. On the left is your chat list, while on the right is the camera and Bitmoji avatar.
How Do I Install Snapchat on My PC or Laptop?
The answer is yes if you’re wondering whether you can instal the Snapchat app on your PC or not. You may easily utilise the Snapchat Web PWA (Progressive Web App) whenever you want because the firm lets you create a shortcut for it. The Snapchat laptop app installation instructions are as follows:
1. Click on your profile symbol in the top-left area of Snapchat Web after logging in.
2. Then, in the drop-down menu that appears, choose Create Desktop Shortcut.
3. At this point, a pop-up will appear in the upper right of the address bar. To instal Snapchat on your laptop, click Install on this pop-up window.
4. After installing Snapchat on your computer, you have the option to create a desktop shortcut and pin the application to the Start Menu or Taskbar. That’s it. Now, you may access the Snapchat app whenever you want on your desktop.
Snapchat Web: Features & First Impressions
It’s time to look at all the features you can and cannot access with this app after learning how to set up and use Snapchat Web on your laptop. So let’s tackle it little by little:
Let’s start by discussing the message process. You may pick up where you left off in your discussions on your mobile device on your desktop or laptop by using the Snapchat web app. Just after logging in, you will see the conversation list and messages load up. To view the conversation in the right pane, simply click on a chat. You have the option to reply to messages, emoji your response, save them in chat, or even delete them.
You can text your pals or call them on your laptop’s audio and video calling feature in the discussion view. With my coworker Akshay, I put this functionality to the test, and it was a complete success. As a result, you can participate in group calls on Snapchat using your browser. Additionally, the online app allows you to view Snapchat emojis that express your friendship, birthday, and other things, as well as keep track of your snap streaks on the app.
Now, many of you may be asking if the Snapchat app on a laptop can transmit Snaps. Yes, you can, but the procedure is incredibly perplexing. You only get access to camera view on the main screen rather than in each chat window. Before sharing a snap with others, you can take images, add overlay text, or download it. Look at the screenshot up there.
Herein lies Snapchat Web’s first flaw, namely the inability to add stories to your profile. Only your mobile device will let you accomplish that. Not only that. The inability to reply to or access Snaps is the major drawback of the Snapchat app that you download to your desktop. Sharing Snaps is actually one of the essential components of the Snapchat experience, but alas, that’s not present here. However, you can instal Android apps on Windows 11 utilising the WSA subsystem if you want to send Snaps or publish Stories from your laptop.
You can see that the Snapchat web app now prioritises text messages above images and videos. Let’s now concentrate on this site’s privacy features. As you are aware, all of your messages by default expire after 24 hours. However, you can choose to have the messages deleted after viewing by clicking on a person’s name.
Many people may also be surprised to learn that Snapchat may be used on a laptop even if your phone is not connected to the Internet. So even if your phone runs out of battery life and you’re too lazy to plug it in, you can still talk with friends. There aren’t many settings you can change, but you can enable Snapchat’s dark mode, delete your account, and more.
Additionally, it’s wonderful that Snapchat says users won’t be able to screenshot chats like they can with its smartphone app. By screenshotting the language and images in the chat without the sender’s knowledge, we were able to dispute this assertion. To take a screenshot in Windows 11, we used the keyboard commands Win + Prt Sc and Win + Shift + S. (proof attached). When right-clicking anywhere in the web app, we do receive a pop-up that says, “Looks like you’re trying to take a screenshot.”
Privacy screen is the Snapchat privacy feature that will stop anybody from spying on your chats. It does an excellent job of hiding the chat and displaying a message that reads, “You are no longer present.” Click anywhere on the screen when you’re back in the Snapchat Web app to access the chat once more.
As a result, I would say that the Snapchat app for laptops was a long-awaited release and that it does a respectable job of providing the same ephemeral messaging functionality as its mobile version. However, it is sad that there aren’t any necessary capabilities, like the capacity to view photographs and post articles. What additional features would you like to see in the laptop version of Snapchat?
Use Snapchat Online in Browser on Mac and Windows PC
So sure, that’s the simplest method for setting up and using Snapchat in your computer’s browser. More than a million people have already subscribed to Snapchat+, which grants users access to new features and allows them to use the messaging app on devices other than smartphones. Although the experience was enjoyable and simple during my brief usage, it was disappointing that the Snapchat web app does not support viewing Snaps or sharing Stories. In the future, I hope Snapchat adds these two functions to provide laptop users with an identical mobile app experience. Do you subscribe to Snapchat Plus? Utilize Snapchat on your laptop already? Tell us in the comments section below.