Snapchat has a competitor in Asia that looks remarkably similar to the visual messaging app. Riding high atop the iOS App Store chart in China, the South Korean Snapchat clone known as “Snow” has seen users take to its filters in their droves. Such is the popularity of the app that 30 million users have signed up to Snow since September, The New York Times reports.
Why exactly are Asian users choosing an imitation over its massively popular predecessor? In China’s case, it may be the simple reason that Snapchat is banned in the country and Snow offers an identical alternative. Elsewhere, the app’s success can be attributed to its Asian sensibilities.
A closer look at the app reveals that although it unashamedly clones Snapchat’s UI, it adds far more filters to the mix, and offers some interesting features to boot. One of the unique functions is its extensive range of tonal camera filters (apps that offer similar beautifying tools, such as the Facebook-compatible BeautyPlus, are extremely popular in Asia), which should appeal to Instagram addicts. There’s also a mode that lets you snap your very own GIFs using your phone’s camera.
Selfie addicts will most likely be drawn to Snow’s extensive amount of crazy filters. Again, the sigh-inducing rip-offs get in the way (there’s a face-swap filter included here, among other replicas), but if you’re willing to overlook them, then there’s plenty of fun to be had. Many of them rely on Asia-centric themes, transforming you into a sumo wrestler, a Harijuku girl, and Soju- (South Korean spirit) swigging businessman. We counted well over a hundred selfie filters, which comprehensively overshadows the revolving set of 15 filters offered by Snapchat.
Snow’s broad range of features shouldn’t come as a surprise as it’s made by the company behind the Line messaging app (South Korean internet giant, Naver) itself known for a wide array of stickers, and additional tools. You can snap it up on iOS and Android right now.
Discord is trying to push more visibility on the internet for some of its biggest communities, and there's a good chance your messages could end up in a Google Search. The platform is preparing to make conversations from certain public servers searchable on the web, so there's a privacy setting you might want to check before the rollout begins.
According to Discord's official announcement, the changes will roll out in two stages. Starting November 16, qualifying servers will have public web pages featuring automated summaries of conversations. By mid-December, individual messages from eligible public channels could also appear word-for-word in Google and other search engines.
You just opened X and started typing your thoughts. Imagine the jump scare when a hand suddenly pops up on your screen, pointing at the promote button. It doesn’t say a word and simply points. For a growing number of X users, this isn’t a made-up scenario but something they have been seeing since yesterday, and very few of them are amused.
Most of us have learned to tune out the usual in-app upsells, whether it’s a glowing upgrade banner or a pop-up about a premium plan. A floating hand hovering over your draft is much harder to ignore, and that’s probably the whole point.
Scroll through any app for five minutes, and you’ll find someone maxxing something. Their skin, their sleep, their protein intake, even their Friday night on the couch. That little suffix has been everywhere this year, and now it has a trophy to show for it. In a recent announcement, Dictionary.com named maxxing its 2026 Word of the Year.
What are people actually doing when they’re maxxing?