Snapchat Lets Users Create Their Own Geofilters, Subject to Approval

Snapchat, the controversial ephemeral messaging app, has launched its Community Geofilters feature for users. Notably, the firm introduced 'Geofilters' for Los Angeles and New York in July this year.

The new Community Geofilters lets users create their own filters in the form of an overlay image, for any given location. Users would simply have to choose the area where they want the filter to be available and upload the image asset on the website. However, the Snapchat team will first approve all the images and artwork (as seen above) uploaded by users before making it live.

Snapchat has mentioned that all the artwork should be original creations. The graphic should also have a width of 1080 pixels and the height of 1920 pixels alongside a 149 pixel buffer zone at the top and bottom. Users are advised to avoid borders. Snapchat is also providing Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop templates to users.

"Geofilters are special overlays for Snaps that can only be accessed in certain locations. Artists and designers are encouraged to use this tool to bring their one-of-a-kind style to the Snapchat community. Simply choose the geographic area you want your filter to be available in and upload an image asset. All images must be original artwork and have to be approved by the Snapchat team," reads Snapchat's dedicated Community Geofilter website.

Snapchat last month sent out warning messages to the same users with graver implications. Third-party app users who received the message said that the warning leads to a Snapchat support page that says use of third-party apps violates Snapchat's terms of use, and further mentions that the continued use of third-party apps can lead to the permanent locking of the user's account.

Notably, the ephemeral messaging service was said to have been hacked in October, and over 500MB worth of images were leaked. The leak was identified to be due to third-party services, with the popular Snapsaved.com named - a website that allowed users to save images sent via Snapchat.