Snapchat has new ‘tagging’ feature but it’s not for everyone, yet

Image: AFP/Robyn Beck via AFP Relaxnews

The battle of the social media platforms continues as they all borrow and copy one another’s features. This time, it’s Snapchat who appears to be copying Instagram with a new ‘tagging’ feature.

The guys at Snapchat seem to be playing around with a new feature, not yet rolled out, which copies the tagging feature from Instagram. Well, why not? Not so long ago, Instagram copied Snapchat by introducing “stories” that can also be posted to Facebook profiles.

This tagging feature isn’t yet available to everyone, and it’s hard to know who has it and why. TechCrunch posted about Snap’s latest experiment with explanatory screenshots taken by Matt Rappaport, who describes himself as an “Actor-Comedian-Creator!” on his Twitter account @nyactor. They also wrote, “Snapchat now confirms to TechCrunch that ‘We’re testing this’ but refused to give more details.”

Now, when taking a photo in the app, some users are able to use the @ symbol and then write another person’s username to link them to the story. But as there is no dropdown menu for the moment, there isn’t much help available if all you can remember is the other person’s name rather than their Snapchat nickname, which could be completely different.

If the person tagged also has this unofficial feature, then they will receive notifications. Those watching the photo or video can also click on the tag that will then direct them to the user’s profile.

The new feature is possibly designed as a bonus for celebrities and influencers, in the hopes of attracting more followers and/or views to provide them with a stronger platform, which in turn would create greater competition for Instagram and YouTube.

It’s not yet known when, or if, this update will be rolled out, although the buzz around it does come at a good time for Snapchat, which has been receiving negative publicity, since recent in-app changes that provoked an online petition to revert back to the older version. JB

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