Snapchat, the photo messaging application which lets users set a self-destruct timer on photos sent to others, is on its way to becoming the number one application preferred by families and women in particular. Women interviewed for this report said Snapchat is the safest way to send a picture or video without fearing that it may be saved or leaked onto the Internet. When users send a picture, they also set a self-destruct timer which deletes the image after it is displayed for anywhere between 1 to 10 seconds.
According to a Saudi Gazette report, Saudi Arabia has some of the world's highest digital media usage rates in the world. The largest numbers of users are aged between 26 and 34. Twitter users constitute around 60 percent of Saudi Internet users as their numbers rose by 45 percent between 2012 and 2013. About 8 million of the country's population uses Facebook.
Instagram, Keek, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Path are other more popular social media portals.
The privacy offered by Snapchat has prompted many Internet users to freely exchange pictures and family photos with one another. Amani Ahmad, a university student in Jeddah, said the program is safe and a better option than other programs that allow users to save pictures they receive. “This application is my favorite to use before I go to a wedding or when I am with my friends because I know that whatever I send cannot be saved. If someone takes a screenshot of a picture, the sender gets a notification through the program. I trust this application and have sent many pictures to my friends because they will be able to see it only for a few seconds before they are permanently deleted,” she said.
Asmaa, a 21-year-old Saudi student said she uses the photo-sharing app to update her friends and family on her daily activities.
“I use Snapchat to keep up with what's going on in the lives of people I am close with and share with them what happened in my daily life, too. Personally, I like that people that I did not know for long time became closer to me because we keep in touch in an easy way,” she said.
For Salman, a Saudi engineer in his 20s, Snapchat helps him keep in touch with friends in the Kingdom and abroad. “I use it to share my life with my friends especially the ones who are living abroad. Depends on what I am doing, I use Snapchat anywhere between 3 and 20 times a day. The program has helped me understand my friends' personalities,” he said.
Motea Al-Shinqiti, university graduate and self-confessed Snapchat addict, said the application created a huge splash when it was first introduced because it brought a new idea that is different from other applications.
“The application is my favorite when I am outside with my friends. I record a number of videos for my friends of an event and share it with all my friends by putting it in ‘my story.' It is fun. I found out that I am not the only one addicted to it because all my friends and family members are on it too. I even forced my parents to install the application so they can keep up with the daily activities of my brothers and sisters. It is an easy way to communicate,” he said.
Snapchat also opened the door for artists and other creative types to seamlessly share their work. Users can use the app to create drawings on their phone. Nusaibah Abdulrahman, a 23-year-old artist, said Snapchat gave her a new platform to share drawings and altered photos.
“I love to send pictures of my face to friends after I add extra features by drawing on it. The application is fun and I think there should be a competition between young artists on Snapchat,” she said.
