Snapchat is a widely known multimedia messaging app traditionally on Android and iOS platforms with millions of users all around the globe. It comes with short-timed pictures and video-sharing capability, along with a host of other fascinating features. You can now enjoy all these features and capabilities and lots more right on your Mac or Windows laptop. How? That is what we will be treating in today’s how-to article.
For starters, to use this app on Mac or Windows OS, you will use an app called Bluestacks. The software, powerful yet free, is an Android app emulator which helps you run smartphone apps on your laptop seamlessly. Even though there is no website platform provided by Snapchat, with Bluestacks, you can now view your friends’ snaps.
Bluestack comes with a vibrant user interface (UI), messaging capability, tons of editing features, caricature-like avatars, just to name a few. With this super-cool app, you can install and run Snapchat on the go and also do some other more personal things on the social media app.
Getting Snapchat on Mac OS or Windows
Getting Snapchat to work on your Mac OS or windows is really not that hard as it only requires that you take a number of simple steps. You can either create a new Snapchat account if you don’t already have one or log in with your existing username which gives you instant access to your entire friends list. Note, however, that a computer, a handy webcam, and a microphone (which mostly come with cameras these days) will allow you to experience the full functionality of the app. Without these tools, you will get multiple error prompts which can be overridden by clicking the “Cancel” button.
- On your Mac, locate and open the “System Preferences” app then click on the “Security and Privacy” button
- Click the “General” tab and check where the part labeled “Allow apps download from App store and identified developers.”
- Download Bluestacks for Mac or Windows for free, install the Android emulator on your Mac computer just by dragging the file into the applications folder while for windows, you will need to load the app and then follow the ensuing onscreen prompts.
- Launch Bluestacks. Once the App is installed, link your Google account to the app by signing in with your log in details
- Hit the “Search” option at the top of the app, enter “Snapchat” and then click the “Find” button to get the app on Google Play Store.
- Look for the install button just next to Snapchat and also take note of the yellow icon and inner white ghost; then, click on the install button.
- Allow Bluestacks to show the search result from the Android stores, and proceed by clicking on the app to download and install.
- Once done, go back to the Bluestacks home screen, click Launchpad and look for Snapchat to launch it or select “My Apps”. Then, click on Snapchat to open it.
Now, you can either Sign in using your existing Snapchat username that will give you access to your entire friends list or register a new account on the app if you are a new user. If it’s the latter, you’ll have to add your friends to your new account.
With Bluestacks, you can now use Snapchat on Mac until its official release from Apple or on Windows, whenever and wherever you want and enjoy just about the same app experience as obtainable on phones, whether for picture messaging, sending, and reading messages. There are only slight variations between using Snapchat on the phone and on Bluestacks, some of which include the use of the normal computer keyboard and much wider screen display
Get on with it and conveniently share your pictures and messages with your family and friends, right on your PC!
