WhatsApp’s new camera features ‘borrow’ from everyone’s favorite lender: Snapchat

Facebook properties copying Snapchat features is nothing new. Instagram and Messenger copied Snapchat’s ‘Stories’ feature, so it only seems appropriate that Facebook-owned WhatsApp would completely snag its photo interface.

The new features allow users to add emoji, drawn on images and video, or add plain or colored text. After capturing a photo, or video, you’ll just use your finger to draw on the image — just like Snapchat. Speaking of Snapchat, the emoji should look familiar as it uses the open source Twemoji used by Twitter and Snapchat — not the default Android or iOS emoji the messaging app relies on.

WhatsApp’s new update isn’t just about emoji and drawing, though. The new camera features make better use of the front-facing shooter by brightening images with its pseudo-flash. At night, or in low light situations, the screen brightens to capture more detail in poorly-lit photos.

Also included in the camera upgrades is the ability to zoom just by sliding your finger up and down, or you can quickly switch between front and rear-facing cameras by double tapping.

Or, you know, you can just use all of this in Snapchat like you were before the update.