Snapchat's 10 most popular lenses of 2016
Snapchat is insanely powerful. Not only has it changed Facebook (for better or worse), it has popularized the term "vomiting rainbow" and transformed selfies.
Just over a year ago, Snapchat introduced lenses, a feature that recognizes objects such as faces and overlays them with animated filters. It's one of the app's most addictive features in part because the options change daily.
More than 150 million people every day open the app to see what they can become. Everyone from President Barack Obama to Kim Kardashian have sported a flower crown this year.
Not only are they fun, they're one of Snapchat's main revenue streams. Users don't seem deterred. A sponsored lens from Taco Bell drew 224 million views over 24 hours, according to Snap.
In honor of the new year and the first full year of the product, Snapchat revealed a list of the 10 most popular lenses. Unfortunately, they're in no particular order, so we're left to guess which lens takes the top spot. They also don't have official names, but we relied on Snapchat's judgment.
Flower Crown
Friend Face Swap
Dog
Butterfly
Pink Flower Crown
Deer
Bee
Frown
Camera Roll Face Swap
Rosy-Cheek
Not all of the winning lenses are still available on the app. R.I.P. Mashable's Saba Hamedy's beloved bee lens.
In the last year, Snapchat made a bunch of changes to lenses. Double lenses allow two people to transform into puppies, for example. In November, the company launched world lenses, which allow users to add affects to their surroundings -- like clouds that vomit rainbows.
Snapchat is no longer the only app with animated lenses. Facebook acquired augmented reality company MSQRD earlier this year and introduced masks to Messenger. But while Facebook's begging for users to open up Messenger and try them this New Year's Eve, Snapchat simply expects its daily users to come in and have fun.
Topics Snapchat Celebrities
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
