Snapchat filters can now recognise pets and food

Snapchat filters just got even smarter with the latest update – they can recognise the objects in your photos.

Image recognition software now means that the app can pick out pets, food, and scenery in your snaps, and apply a custom filter.

For instance, taking a photo of a dog brings up a filter saying ‘It’s a pawty!’, with colourful bones dotted around the screen.

The app also recognises pictures of food, adding a ‘Single / Taken / Hungry’ filter to burger shots.

The update comes just as Google is set to launch Google Lens on its Pixel 2 phones – an image-recognition feature, allowing users to search for information in their photos.

While Snapchat has confirmed the arrival of image-recognition filters, it hasn’t specified the range of objects the app can decipher.

The new filters come ahead of a design overhaul, with the social media app set to get a simplified new look in the near future.

The redesign is being undertaken in an effort to make the app easier to use.

“One thing that we have heard over the years is that Snapchat is difficult to understand or hard to use, and our team has been working on responding to this feedback,” said Evan Spiegel, Snapchat CEO, in a statement about the proposed changes.

“As a result, we are currently redesigning our application to make it easier to use. There is a strong likelihood that the redesign of our application will be disruptive to our business in the short term, and we don’t yet know how the behaviour of our community will change when they begin to use our updated application.

“We’re willing to take that risk for what we believe are substantial longterm benefits to our business.”