Snapchat has introduced Geostickers, which are location-specific stickers that can be added to snaps and messages sent through the app.
The Geostickers are fashioned in the same aesthetic as the other stickers for Snapchat, which were added to the service earlier this year.
In the blog post that announced the arrival of Geostickers, Snapchat revealed that the feature is now available in some of the biggest cities across the world. Specifically, these cities are Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Washington DC, Honolulu, Paris, London, São Paulo, Sydney and Riyadh.
According to Tech Crunch, for San Francisco, there are currently 15 Geostickers available, with more expected to eventually be added to the options. Some of the new stickers, as the website notes, highlight local landmarks, with others also mocking tech culture and taking a jab at the city's rising rates of rent.
Geostickers follow the trend of using location-specific elements in messaging, similar to Snapchat's Geofilters. The Geofilters, which allow users to add location-specific filters to their snaps, have created a dedicated community in producing such customized feature. Businesses have also been allowed to create Geofilters to serve as advertisements for upcoming events, which are geofenced and enabled for a certain period of time.
To activate Geostickers, users will of course first need to be located in one of the cities that support the new feature. Users should then make sure that location services are enabled within the settings of Snapchat. The Geostickers should show up along with all the other stickers under the specific menu on the app.
Snapchat has not verified on whether more locations will receive Geostickers in the future. However, given the success of Geofilters, it is most likely that Snapchat will also be expanding Geostickers into more locations.
Snapchat's introduction of Geostickers comes just as Instagram announced its own Stories feature, which features ephemeral content that Snapchat is known for. Instagram's Stories will work very similarly to Snapchat's Stories, with users allowed to upload photos and video slideshows that will automatically be deleted after 24 hours.
Instagram Stories will appear at the top of the feeds of users, which will make it easy for the account's followers to see the uploaded content. However, due to Instagram Stories not being regular posts, public comments and likes will not be allowed.
Will the announcement of Geostickers for Snapchat overshadow Instagram's version of Stories? For sticker-loving users, it could very well do so.
