Snapchat has a unique way to pinpoint which user or friend that users frequently talk to. Sometimes, it's embarrassing how easy one could get into our best friend list on Snapchat.
However, TL;DR, Snapchat rolled out a new feature called 'Friend Check-Up.' As Endgadget spotted, what it basically does is limiting other users who haven't been in touch with you for a long time to access your account, your "Map" location, and your Stories. This feature urges users to prune their friend in the app because "Snapchat is for Real Friends," as the notification reads.
Let's be real; there are plenty of times when we've looked at one user's profile albeit we have zero recollection whatsoever about who they are. The worst-case scenario is that we want to click that 'Remove friend' button so bad after seeing one profile's story updates.
For Inner-Circle Only
Unlike Facebook and Instagram, where many people would compete to get the most likes or the most followers, Snapchat is designed to be a social media for the inner-circle only. This update will help realize just that.
For Snapchat, this is not a new sentiment at all. In 2019, the platform rolled out a major ad campaign called 'Real Friends' on YouTube.The ad highlighted the individual stories of friends from over 12 different countries.
"When we launched Snapchat more than seven years ago, it wasn't about capturing the traditional Kodak moment, or trying to look pretty or perfect," the description reads, highlighting Snapchat's so-called 'anti-Facebook' approach.
Several users already see the update as a part of the social platform's testing field. Although the update won't be rolled out in a couple of weeks, Snapchat is gearing up to promote the 18th edition of Safer Internet Day
However, if you'd like to do the "purge" manually, you can simply roll over your friend list and don't hesitate to click that 'Remove' or 'Block' friend button on any account that you wouldn't consider as 'friends.'
Snapchat In Numbers
Snapchat was so ahead of its time that many platforms, like Instagram and Twitter as the latest, copycatted its self-destructing 'Story' and face-filter features. Thanks to that, it still is one of the most popular apps for teens and adult-teens.
Last year, as Oberlo reported, there are 229 million daily active Snapchat users worldwide per the first quartal. Its demographic is dominated by millennials and Gen-Z, and it decreases throughout the age groups. Over 210 million snaps are created every day, with nearly a million lenses to choose from.
Although the app is getting less and less popular every year, Snapchat has what others don't. It's likely here to stay, especially amidst Facebook's long-running privacy breach scandals that involved its own children company, such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
