Snapchat users now have the ability to create their own personalized Snapchat Lenses and Filters, which you can buy through Snapchat’s website or application. Custom Lenses are only available for iOS users in the US for now, but Snap is working to roll out the feature globally, and for Android devices.
Snapchat Lenses, the masks and backdrops that appear when you press on a face while in camera mode, were made popular back in 2015. Snapchat Filters work similarly, by letting you swipe to see frames around your photos and videos, and letting you add images, colors, text, and other fun elements.
By letting people create their own Lenses and Filters, Snapchat is further personalizing its app for all sorts of use cases, including special events, similar to what Snap did for Geofilters. The free Lens Studio launched in December for more technically savvy creators to build 3D visuals like Snapchat’s popular dancing hot dog; today, the studio will let users choose from at least 150 templates for custom Lenses, which you can personalize with text and emoji fairly quickly.
Here’s how to make your own custom Snapchat Lenses and Filters:
You can make custom Lenses and Filters on either on a computer (via Snapchat's website) or phone (via the app). On a computer, visit snapchat.com/create.
Scroll down a bit and you'll see these three options. Click on the "Learn More" button under the Lenses or Filters feature, depending on which one you want.
Clicking on that button will bring you to a page that looks like this. Click the "Create Now" button.
If you're using a phone, you can create your own custom Snapchat filters or Lenses by visiting the settings within the application and finding the "Filters and Lenses" tab.
Finally, you'll get to the fun part: designing your custom lens or filter. Here's what the page looks like for making your own Lens:
And here's what the custom Filters designer looks like:
Once you've designed your Lens or Filter to your liking, you'll enter the dates and times you want to make it available...
...choose the location...
...and then check out.
It starts at $10 a creation, varying based on the length of time you want people to be able to use the Lens or Filter, and the distance you want people using it to be able to go (it can be anywhere from 20,000 to 5 million square feet).
Keep in mind that, if you're creating a custom Lens or Filter, you need to check out three hours before go time.
Custom Snapchat Lenses and Filters are only available on iOS devices in the US right now, but Snap said that it'll be available globally and on Android soon.
In addition to personalized Snapchat Lenses and Filters, Snap is now starting to roll out the new caption styles it announced about a week after Instagram launched a similar capability through "Type Mode".
Snapchat users on iOS and Android will start to see the option to swipe through a number of different text styles like Brush, Italic, Glow, Gradient, Rainbow, Fancy, and Old English.
