Snapchat

Snapchat is a multimedia messaging application that features the ability for users to take photos and record short videos to send to contacts. When a user sends a message, or snap, using the default settings, it automatically disappears from the recipient’s device once it is seen. A feature called Snapchat Stories lets users share longer posts that are automatically deleted after 24 hours.

By 2020, Snapchat was reported to have more than 200 million daily active users. The app is especially popular with members of Generation Z (those born after 1996), and journalists have begun to incorporate it in their reporting practices. This entry discusses the history of the app, its use by news organizations, and research on the app and its relationship to journalism.

While students ...