Snapchat has launched a new way to provide users a more insight into a story designed to offer a different perspective about what is being snapped.
The feature is called Story Explorer that can be activated by just swiping up on a particular snap to see more from that same moment, The Verge reported. While clips that make it into Stories are hand-picked by Snapchat employees, technology built by Snapchat’s research team curates shots for Story Explorer.
It is launched in the app’s New York and Los Angeles “Stories.” To view additional footage, users can swipe up on individual Snaps within a Story and see about 10 additional clips. Swiping down brings the user back to the main thread. Snapchat said it plans to make the tool available in more Stories soon.
By increasing the amount of time a user spends on Snapchat, the greater the possibility of getting them to sit through a video ad. Snapchat said that its community makes the feature possible because of its shared snaps in the moment and contributing so many diverse perspectives.
There are six billion videos viewed daily on Snapchat, and that number is rapidly growing. One way to help this trend is by making videos and snaps more engaging, and Story Explorer seems to be designed to do just that.
The tool reflects a broader push by social apps to make live events central to the user experience. Snapchat is not the only social media network that curates posts, according to PCMag. Twitter unveiled a similar service, known as Moments, which gives users a snapshot of trending topics for the day or moment via popular tweets, videos, and GIFs.