Snap Launches Camera Extension for Chrome

Hey, remember that one time you added a funny AR filter to your PC camera view, via Snapchat’s separate “Snap Camera” app, and it livened up the endless stream of Zoom meetings during lockdown?

Well, you can now do it again, and be the funny guy/girl, for at least a moment.

Snap’s Snap Camera app was a popular video call add-on, which provided an array of Snap Lenses that you could overlay on your video playback screen.

But amid broader cost-cutting, Snap shut down the separate Snap Camera app in January last year, removing the option to appear in your Zoom calls as a potato.

But now, you can do it again, with Snap rolling out a new Chrome extension that effectively does the same thing.

Now available in public preview, the Snapchat Camera for Chrome extension enables you to use selected Snap Lenses via your PC camera.

As per Snap:

“Elevate your webcam experience with Snap AR Lenses. Whether you're in professional meetings, catching up with friends, or live streaming, our extension brings the creativity of Snap AR Lenses directly to your webcam.”

So now, you can virtually dress up as a frog, a potato, or an axolotl once again, which could help to liven up those video meetings that depict you against the same background every day.

You can also integrate Lenses that you've designed and published, so you can create your own entire look.

I mean, it does take some take and patience to learn how to build a lens in Snap’s Lens Studio. But it’s another option to consider, to bring even more fun to your video calls.

The only warning would be that the novelty can wear off quick, while you also want to make sure that you consider the tone of each specific meeting before busting in wearing a rainbow clown wig.

But for those who loved the old Snap Camera tools, now, they’re back once again.