Snapchat finally has something not copied by Facebook,new Story Search feature!

Snapchat has added a much needed and expected update to the Stories feature. The new update lets users search for Snapchat stories. Similar to any other internet search query, you simply type your query and Snapchat Stories will appear. If you type ‘cat’, you’d see Cat stories crop up on your feed. You can also hunt for events or specific locations. 

If you’re concerned about privacy, then you don’t need to worry. Your stories stay private. This new search feature is applicable only to stories or snaps submitted to ‘Our Story’, the story submission feature created by Snapchat. Once you submit your snaps in Our Story, Snapchat might create a story out of them and they will be visible to anyone who searches for that particular story.

A post on the official Snapchat blog said the company has “built a new way to understand what’s happening in Snaps that are submitted to Our Story, and to create new Stories using advanced machine learning. The results have been amazing: you can search over one million unique Stories on Snapchat!
In addition to our professionally curated Stories, you can watch a local basketball game, check out the scene at your favorite bar, view your favorite Fashion Week shows, get inspired by a faraway place, or simply tap through a Story full of puppies — there’s a Story for everything!”

The new Search feature will roll out in phases. For now, the feature is available only to US citizens in specific regions. Snapchat has shared no time regarding the global availability of the Stories Search feature. Snapchat first launched stories in October 2013 and since then, the feature has turned into one of the most loved and used feature of the app. As stories disappear after 24 hours, Stories Search will be applicable only to currently active stories.

Snapchat is now facing tough competition from Facebook properties since the latter has begun aping nearly every feature. While Instagram saw Stories a while back, Facebook app too got the feature recently and Whatsapp got their ‘Stories’ through the new Status tab. The feature unfortunately did not gel with users and Whatsapp soon had to bring the old text based Status back. Snapchat, while not aping Facebook, is trying hard to innovate and stay ahead of the league.