Snapchat’s updated search bar makes it easier to find Discover channels, Live Stories

Snapchat is finally stepping up its search game.

On Thursday, Snapchat began rolling out an update to its mobile apps that makes its search bar more prevalent and more useful.

The most noticeable change is the addition of the search bar to the app’s home screen, but the more significant change is the fact that the search bar now works the same wherever you use it, such as on the Chat screen, the Stories screen or the home screen.

Previously, searching for another account from the Chat screen only let you privately message them or add them as a friend, whereas doing so from the Stories only let you see their Story if one was available or add them as a friend. Now, if you’ve already added someone as a friend — which is the same as following them — you can tap the result to privately message them, and if they have posted a Story, a circle will appear on the left side of the result that you can tap to view it. If you haven’t added the person as a friend, you can tap a button on the result to add them, as usual, or see their Story without adding them.

A unified search bar also makes it easier to find Discover channels and Live Stories to check out. And to up the chances that someone searching will want to check out a Discover channel or Live Story listed in the results — assuming it has keywords that match the query — Snapchat has improved the look of its search results.

Whereas before the results simply listed the names of a Discover publisher or Live Story, now they provide extra information. The updated Discover publisher entry lists a description of the Discover publisher and features a button to subscribe to their channel . And the revised Live Story listing carries a thumbnail image and description of the Live Story that resembles how it’s presented on the Discover screen.

About The Author

Tim Peterson

Tim Peterson, Third Door Media’s Social Media Reporter, has been covering the digital marketing industry since 2011. He has reported for Advertising Age, Adweek and Direct Marketing News. A born-and-raised Angeleno who graduated from New York University, he currently lives in Los Angeles. He has broken stories on Snapchat’s ad plans, Hulu founding CEO Jason Kilar’s attempt to take on YouTube and the assemblage of Amazon’s ad-tech stack; analyzed YouTube’s programming strategy, Facebook’s ad-tech ambitions and ad blocking’s rise; and documented digital video’s biggest annual event VidCon, BuzzFeed’s branded video production process and Snapchat Discover’s ad load six months after launch. He has also developed tools to monitor brands’ early adoption of live-streaming apps, compare Yahoo’s and Google’s search designs and examine the NFL’s YouTube and Facebook video strategies.