Snapchat Unleashes Backdrops, Giving You The Ideal Setting For All Your Snaps

A great backdrop is the key to a successful wedding photo booth, Instagram post, and Facebook profile picture. Snapchat has caught on to this fact, and c0me up with a clever solution.

With Backdrops, a new creative tool rolling out to users today, you don't need to fret about finding the perfect graffiti wall or tiled floor — you can simply snap a photo and apply an in-app design as your background.

To use the tool, simply tap the scissors icon along the right-hand side of the screen and select the square icon below the stars. From here, pick a pattern — options include everything from simple, geometric overlays to summery strawberries and fire emoji. After you've chosen the winning background, outline the objects or people that you want to stand out in front of the filter. And voilà! You have yourself an on-demand photo booth.

In addition to Backdrops, Snapchat is also launching Voice Filters. These filters are a clever twist on the filters already available through some of the app's Lenses. Now, you don't need to turn yourself into a giraffe to have a bizarre voice attached. Simply record yourself or a friend saying something. Then, select the speaker icon that appears in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen and try out the various character voices, from a squeaky chipmunk to a robot, to see which you like best.

Finally, Snapchat has found a way to make Snaps shoppable. This likely has the potential to be very good for your closet, but disastrous for your wallet. Using the Paperclip icon in the vertical toolbar on the righthand side, anyone can now link a website to a Snap. This could be a site to shop a celeb's new clothing line, or a relevant article or website from a friend. The recipient of the snap will see an arrow at the bottom of the screen that they can tap to open the link.

Once you get the update today, try out the new tools one by one. Or try all three at the same time, though that might be going overboard if your video is playing on an infinite loop.