Snapchat is an innovative multimedia messaging and social media platform created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown while they were students at Stanford University, launching in 2011 under the name Picaboo before rebranding to Snapchat. Operated by Snap Inc. and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Snapchat pioneered the concept of ephemeral messaging where photos and videos (called Snaps) disappear after being viewed, fundamentally changing how a generation communicates digitally. The platform serves over 800 million monthly active users, with particularly strong adoption among younger demographics including Gen Z and millennials. Snapchat introduced several features that have been widely imitated across the social media industry, including Stories (24-hour disappearing content), augmented reality lenses and filters, and the Discover section for publisher content. The platform's AR capabilities are industry-leading, with Snap's Lens Studio enabling creators and brands to build immersive AR experiences used billions of times daily. Additional features include Snap Map for location sharing, Spotlight for short-form video content, My AI chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, and Snapchat+ premium subscription. Snap Inc. also produces Spectacles, AR-enabled smart glasses representing the company's vision for spatial computing. The company went public in 2017 and continues to innovate at the intersection of camera technology, augmented reality, and social communication, positioning itself as a camera and AR company rather than a traditional social network.

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Snapchat is a multimedia messaging platform with over 800 million monthly users, pioneering ephemeral content, AR lenses, and Stories that reshaped social media communication.