With the latest Snapchat update for Android and iOS, you can save data by activating the new Travel Mode feature. The name, as PCMag has speculated, is likely a nod to the charges a user gets when roaming. But beyond travelers, the data-saving mode is good news for anyone using the app on a tight budget.
HOW TO SAVE DATA WITH THE LATEST UPDATE
A user can activate it by clicking the Snapchat icon, going to Manage Additional Services and selecting the Travel Mode option. When Travel Mode is used, Snapchat does not load snaps while the phone is using a cellular connection. To save data, the user can only manually download their Snaps, Stories and Discovery data, a process that the app normally carries out automatically.
RECEPTION OF TRAVEL MODE
It’s no wonder the new option has been praised by many in the online tech community, with some seeing it as a relief. Frequent Snapchat users can drain data, and the app’s Discover feature recently caused a backlash from users because (among other reasons), it automatically loaded videos from Snapchat’s media partners. Which is exactly why, as The Verge pointed out, it’s probably wise to save data with Travel Mode.
As Tyler Lee wrote today on Ubergizmo, “This means that even if you’re receiving a ton of snaps from your friends that you’re not attending to, it won’t really consume your data as the photos/videos are not preloaded. This ultimately gives the user more control over their data usage.”
ADDITIONAL EMOJI FEATURE
The latest update has also has a new feature that enables users to shrink emojis and select them in a different tab from the one used for texting, which limited the amount of emojis that could be used with the maximum characters allowed in a message. To activate the new emojis feature (which is illustrated to awesome effect in this TechCrunch Article) users can touch the post-it after making a snap, and from there they can select (and resize) unlimited emojis.
The new Snapchat update with Travel Mode is available with the app on the Apple Store and on Google Play.
