To say that Snapchat has become popular is a pretty gross understatement. Still, in spite of that popularity, users are still frustrated with the fact that they can’t save their favorite snaps to be viewed whenever they want to; we’ve got your back, and can point you towards some of the best “saver apps” for Android and iPhone.
Though it started small, Snapchat is now in all but direct competition with social media giants such as Facebook and Instagram. It has its unique approach to the social media experience to thank for this, and its innovative ideas in how we’re meant to experience our update feeds.
Instead of a rolling wheel of updates that we can browse through at our leisure, Snapchat hits us with images and videos that move as quickly as the very lives we’re living. When you view something from a fellow Snapchatter, it engages its slow lifespan, between 3 to 10 seconds. After that, you’ll never be able to see that snap again–you’d better have been paying attention! The only way to circumvent this, currently, is to pay for the ability to hang onto those snaps for a little while longer. Even then, they still won’t last forever.
“Stories” can last up to 24 hours, but that’s an entire Snapchat narrative! To boot, it doesn’t solve the lingering frustration that users want to view snaps for longer than the app currently allows, whether it be 10 seconds or an entire day. Since the “self-destructive” nature of Snapchat’s media is part of the app’s very foundation (and let’s not kid ourselves; part of its success, too), it’s not very likely that we’re going to be given an official set of tools that allow us to hang onto snaps for as long as we see fit.
Therefore, it’s up to creative users to figure out a way around this. Lo and behold, they certainly have done that, and methods now exist that will allow you to save your snaps, filters and all.
Whether you’re on Android or iOS, various options exist in their respective app stores that basically function as “snap savers.” They capture what might otherwise be lost, and allow you to hang onto that media and view it at your own leisure, for as long as you want.
Is any one of these supported by Snapchat? Absolutely not. Is there some risk involved with using them? There certainly is. Is it illegal? Once again, no.
Still, it’s worth your while to learn a bit about how “saver apps” work. We’ll talk about how they interact with the Snapchat app itself and then gloss over a few of the most noteworthy apps for either popular operating system. Finally, we’ll examine some of the risks that come along with this particular type of application.
How Saver Apps Work
This is just about as straightforward as you imagine it would be. Whereas snaps are set to expire a very short time after viewing them, a saver app will intervene and capture them, saving your fellow Snapchatters’ images and videos to be viewed for as long as you’d like to keep them.
There’s no way to do this without some form of third-party intervention, and since I’m not a fan of recommending that readers jailbreak their devices simply for the sake of hanging onto a few extra snaps, some of the coming recommendations will be able to be found on app stores. While this should provide you with some level of reassurance as to what you’re getting yourself into, there are a couple of important things that you need to remember.
- Many of these apps will require the login information for your Snapchat account. If this seems risky in-and-of itself, that’s because it is. However, thousands of users have been taking advantage of the apps listed below, making them mostly trustworthy.
- Jumping off of that point, if your account information is ever compromised due to your use of a third-party app, Snapchat isn’t going to have your back when fixing subsequent problems. Neither will the developers of the third-party app. You’ll be on your own.
- Even though some of these apps can completely replace the actual Snapchat app on your mobile device, it’s still useful to keep the official app around.
Saver Apps for iOS
- MagicHack for Snapchat: This one is available on the iOS App Store, and it’s probably the most fully featured “saver app” that you’re going to find. It offers integration with other social media applications, and on top of that, allows you to upload snaps from your device’s own camera roll, rather than forcing you to take photos and video “in the moment.” It also comes with a fairly competent photo editor. The catch? Use of this app is going to require in-app purchases, thereby limiting the amount that you’ll be able to use it for free. This is how most of these apps have come to function, so rather than an outlier, this is the standard for “saver apps” that actually work.
- Snap Gram: This one is comparable to MagicHack as far as features and functions are concerned. Also similar is the fact that you’ll have to use in-app currencies in order to take advantage of its features. Such is the price to pay on iOS, where sideloading isn’t an option, and you’ll be required to jailbreak your Apple device if you want to use anything other than what’s available on the App Store.
Saver Apps for Android
Android devices are a bit of a different pickle. Because the platform is much more open than iOS, sideloading apps is most certainly a thing you can do. For users that previously looked to the Google Play app store as their source of “saver apps,” they almost have to source third-party .apk’s, due to Android’s recent removal of most of the apps from the store.
- SnapSave: This was once one of the more popular “saver apps” on the Google Play store, but you’ll now need to download the .apk yourself if you want its full functionality. On the plus side, it’s not dependent upon in-app currencies, and will serve as a standalone replacement to your Snapchat application. Upload pictures from your camera roll, or download snaps from your fellow Snapchatters. This is most users’ go-to choice when on Android OS.
- Snapchat Saver: It has a lot of the same functionality as SnapSave, but also specializes in allowing users to save “Stories” that come with pictures, video, or some combination thereof. You’ll need to have this app open and ready when you view new snaps in Snapchat, but it will preserve the quality of any that you choose to cache away in your own library.
Risks of Saver Apps
As stated before, there’s no way to avoid being at risk when you’re interfering with the normal function of an app. For Snapchat, that most certainly means that any attempt to stop snaps from expiring when they’re supposed is going to violate the app’s terms of service. Risky business, indeed.
However, it’s not necessarily any sort of activity that’s going to attract legal repercussions. Instead, if you’re caught, it’s very likely that your Snapchat account will be locked. Your activity will be frozen and you won’t be able to resume using your Snapchat account until you’ve sufficiently proven that you’re no longer in violation of the terms of service.
If you are caught more than once, however, Snapchat will be far less lenient, and may end up banning your account altogether. For these reasons, I always advise a high amount of caution for anyone that chooses to circumvent Snapchat’s rules, in an attempt to save images and videos from the app.
There’s an issue of balance that has to be tackled by anyone that wants to use a “saver app” for their Snapchat content. You’ll need to balance risk against rewards; determine whether or not having your Snapchat account banned is worth it, for the sake of being able to save and review content at your own leisure. You’ll need to balance additional costs associated with an app against the otherwise free Snapchat experiences (apart from in-app purchases that you choose to buy into.) Especially on iOS, in-app purchases are the fuel that drives your ability to do many of the tasks that Snapchat does not want you to. If you forego those extra things offered by the third-party apps, you’re left with Snapchat alone, which is a remarkably well-developed and free application.
If you can work your way around those thoughts, and you decide that a “saver app” is what you need to enhance your own Snapchat experience, then the above resources will most certainly help you to find the one that works for you. Media that can actually be saved has long been a desire of Snapchat users…if only it didn’t run entirely contrary to what has helped it to become so popular in the first place!
While the above are some of the best saver apps for Android and iPhone, many others exist, both on and off the Google Play store and iOS App Store. Share your own experiences in the comments below!