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Downloads of Snap’s AR filters for video chats spike amid coronavirus lockdowns
- Snap has seen a 10-fold increase in downloads for Snap Camera, which allows people to overlay their faces with augmented reality filters
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Workers around the world are suddenly confined to their homes and flats to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Some are doing their best to keep things interesting while telecommuting.
Snapchat parent Snap has seen a 10-fold surge in downloads since the beginning of the month of a tool that makes calls on services like Zoom Video Communications and Google Hangouts a bit more lighthearted.
The feature, called Snap Camera, allows people to overlay their faces with an augmented reality filter, turning them into a talking toilet-paper roll or slice of pizza, or evening out skin tone for those who would prefer not to apply make-up while working at home.
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The service includes thousands of filter options and so-called lenses, some created by artists and others by Santa Monica, California-based Snap.
When it launched in October 2018, the mobile-app maker thought the lenses would likely be most popular among gamers who were broadcasting their conquests on Twitch, the video streaming app owned by Amazon. Now, Snap Camera could help the company expand beyond its dedicated teenage fan base, and into the corporate crowd.
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