Snapchat surpasses Twitter with 150 million daily active users

You never know, Snapchat might be our 21st-century tortoise of the “Tortoise and the Hare Story”. Twitter which was once the second largest social network after Facebook, has been recently outdone by Snapchat with 150 million daily active users, whereas Twitter claims a figure that stands less by 10 million according to “an average of analysts’ estimates surveyed by Bloomberg.” However, neither Snapchat nor Twitter have confirmed the numbers.

Twitter, founded in 2006, has 310 million monthly active users. In the third quarter, the company said that 44 percent of monthly users are active each day in the service’s top 20 markets. Twitter Chief Financial Officer Anthony Noto said at the time that the percentage had been stable but that “we’ll be sure to disclose” if there was a significant change. The company hasn’t given an update since then.

The short-messaging service was once the largest social network after Facebook Inc. but has since been surpassed by Facebook’s other apps, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Snapchat, the four-year-old-messaging app has gained more popularity among young people with its interesting features like commented selfies and short videos. Users can swap faces in a photo with its imaging software and transform themselves into puppies and barf rainbows. Snapchat encourages people to visit the app frequently with the "Snapstreak," which counts the number of consecutive days they’ve been communicating with their closest friends. Snapchat’s other content, such as news and Live Stories, disappear after 24 hours.

Not only youngsters but celebrities ranging from actors to chefs are also boosting Snapchat with their "stories" of the day. Recently, in India, Snapchat was trending because of a Snapchat video posted by Tanmay Bhatt, a standup comedian from AIB where he mocked Sachin Tendulkar and LataMangeshkar. Tanmay’s video went viral for the wrong reasons as some people got offended by the content and even filed a complaint asking the video, which was later posted to other platforms like Instagram, etc, be taken down.

According to a TechCrunch report, Snapchat has also acquired 3D photo app maker Seene, which lets users capture 3D model photos from their smartphone camera and can be used for new selfie lenses in Snapchat.