Snapchat wants to recognise everyday objects and serve you related ads
Someday a picture of a cup of coffee on your phone could earn you a redeemable coupon
Snapchat appears to be working on a new ad product that would use image recognition to pick out real-world objects in user's snaps in order to serve them related filters, ads, and coupons.
A patent published by the United States Patent and Trademark office on Thursday and first filed in January 2015 (you can read it in full below) details how the system would work.
A person taking a photo of The Empire State building, for example, could be served a fun filter of King Kong that they could apply to their snap.
In the patent application, Snapchat details how someone taking a photo of the south side of the building could be served a filter of King Kong's back, while someone over on the north face of the building "might see King Kong's face looking at you." The patent says the filter could include audio and visual effects content, meaning the filters could be animated or play a theme tune.
Snapchat is also thinking of a way to monetise the technology. As this diagram shows, a person who has just taken a snap of a cup of coffee could be served a coupon to redeem in-store.