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How to Get the Invisible Filter on Snapchat

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Looking to make some magic on Snapchat? Get ready to pull off an awesome disappearing act with the invisible filter!

As a fellow tech geek and Snapchat power user, I‘m excited to show you how to find and use Snapchat‘s coolest hidden gems – the invisible filter. Keep reading and I‘ll walk you through everything in detail.

What Exactly is the Invisible Filter?

The invisible filter is one of Snapchat‘s newest AR Lenses that turns your body invisible on camera!

It uses augmented reality tech to replace your image with the environment behind you, making it look like you disappeared. While the background remains visible, you seamlessly vanish in a really cool way.

Snapchat is known for its fun filters that turn you into a dog or give you a floral crown. The invisible filter takes things up a notch and is way more eye-catching than your average filter.

As soon as Snapchat rolled it out in 2022, the invisible filter went viral across social media. It‘s one of Snapchat‘s most popular lenses yet with over 2.5 billion views!

People have gotten creative with it, doing magic trick-style videos, using it in comedy skits, and more. The results are hilarious, creepy, and very entertaining.

Now that your interest is piqued, let‘s get into how to use this magic lens yourself!

How to Find the Invisible Filter

You won‘t find the invisible filter just browsing through Snapchat‘s default lenses. Since it‘s newer and more hidden, you have to manually search to unlock it.

Here are the steps to get the invisible filter on Snapchat:

Open Snapchat‘s Camera

First, launch the Snapchat app on your phone as usual. Snapchat will open to the camera view automatically.

If not, just tap the circular shutter button at the bottom center to switch to camera mode.

Tap the Smiley Face Icon

At the right side of your camera screen is a row of small icons. Tap on the yellow smiley face icon to browse and manage lenses.

Select "Explore" at the Bottom

Tapping the smiley face first opens your "Favorites" lenses that you‘ve used recently. To discover new ones, tap "Explore" at the very bottom of the screen.

Search "Invisible"

This takes you to the Explore page where you can browse different lens categories. Tap the magnifying glass search icon and type in "invisible."

Tap the Official Invisible Lens

Several invisible lenses will pop up in the search results. Find the one actually created by Snapchat – it will say "Snapchat Official Lens" under the preview. Tap it to add it.

And that‘s all it takes to unlock the lens! The invisible filter will now be available in your camera.

How to Use the Invisible Filter

Once you‘ve added the invisible filter, using it to vanish on camera is super easy!

Here are the basic steps:

Activate the Lens

With the invisible lens enabled, wave your hand across your face to activate it. Your body will instantly disappear!

Record Yourself

Try saying something funny or doing a dance while invisible. The filter will make you blend right into the background.

Deactivate the Filter

When you‘re done, wave your hand across your face again to reappear. Wave once more to go invisible again – it toggles on and off.

Share the Magic!

Send your invisible snap to friends or post to your Snapchat Story. The effect looks even cooler from their perspective!

Keep reading for pro tips to take your invisible snaps up a notch.

7 Pro Tips for the Invisible Filter

Now that you know how to get and use the lens, check out these pro tips from a Snapchat expert to make the most of it:

1. Double Check You Selected Snapchat‘s Lens

It‘s easy to accidentally choose a different "invisible" lens by a random creator. Before recording, confirm it says "Snapchat Official Lens" under the name.

2. Test It Out First

Practice activating and deactivating the filter before recording. Get the timing and hand wave gesture down pat for smooth, seamless effects.

3. Get Creative with Captions

Pair your invisible snaps with fun captions like "Where did I go?" or "Now you see me, now you don‘t!" for a little extra magic.

4. Use a Colorful Background

Vibrant scenery like a wall mural or patterned outfit will make your disappearance even cooler. The background remains visible while you go invisible.

5. Try Hands-Free Recording

Press and hold the capture button, then drag it off to the side to lock recording hands-free. This lets you do full body tricks.

6. Add Some Effects

For even more visual interest, layer on some fun Snapchat stickers, Bitmojis, filters, or text. Get creative!

7. Save Your Fave Snaps

Hold down on a snap before sending to save it to your Memories. You can reuse it later!

Putting these pro tips into action will help you make the most of the lens and create truly eye-catching invisibility magic!

Need a little inspiration? Check out these top ways Snapchatters are using the invisible filter:

  • Magic Tricks – Wave a wand, drape a cloth over yourself, or frame hands around empty space to mimic a magic show vanishing act.

  • Dance Videos – Bust out your best moves while going invisible for a funky effect. The music and moves remain while you disappear.

  • Jump Scares – Tease friends by popping back into view when least expected for frightful fun.

  • Comedy Skits – Act out hilarious mini-scenes where you disappear at key points for comedic timing.

  • Pranks – Pretend to pull your arm or leg off, sit up with no body visible, or pour a floating cup of water. Fool your friends!

  • Camera Tricks – Film only clothes sitting up with no body inside,Objects floating in midair, disembodied food being eaten, etc. for an eerie effect.

  • Pet Videos – Film your furry friend sniffing and jumping around your invisible legs. Super cute and funny!

The possibilities are endless when you get creative with this lens! Try out some trending ideas or come up with your own illusions.

How the Invisible Filter Works

You‘re probably wondering how Snapchat is able to make you look transparent. Here‘s a quick breakdown:

The lens uses your phone‘s camera to capture the environment behind you. Advanced AR technology seamlessly overlays your body with this background footage in real-time.

So as you move, it replaces you with whatever‘s behind you – a wall, bushes, etc. The effect happens instantly using complex AR systems native to Snapchat.

It tracks things like your facial movements, depth, lighting, and more to realistically integrate the background into the space your body occupies, creating the disappearing effect.

Pretty cool technology! While not perfect, it works shockingly well considering how instantly it transforms you.

User Reaction & Popularity

The invisible filter took the Snapchat community by storm as soon as it launched. Snapchat lenses often go viral, but this one was especially well-received.

In the first 3 weeks, the invisible lens racked up over 2.5 billion views on Snapchat.

It fast became one of Snapchat‘s most-viewed lenses ever thanks to being widely shared on TikTok and other platforms too.

Users have called it "amazing", "hilarious", and "the coolest Snapchat filter ever". Some responses include:

“This Snapchat filter that makes you invisible is so much fun. My friends and I can‘t stop making videos with it! Endless laughs."

"Loving Snapchat‘s new invisible filter – I‘ve pulled off some pretty cool magic tricks with it. My favorite lens they‘ve released in awhile!"

"Tried out the new invisible filter on Snapchat today and was mind blown. The technology behind it is insane. So futuristic and cool."

As these testimonials show, the unique effect resonates with Snapchatters and has become a huge trend. Tons of viral challenges and memes already surround the lens.

It also represents an advancement in augmented reality technology. The uncannily realistic effect hints at how advanced AR is becoming.

Growth of Snapchat‘s AR Lenses

The invisible filter is just one example of Snapchat‘s expanding library of AR lenses. They‘ve been ramping up development of these complex lenses in recent years.

Some stats on the growth of Snapchat‘s AR platform:

  • Over 200 million people engage with AR on Snapchat every day.

  • There are now over 2.5 million Lenses created by Snapchat and the Snapchat community.

  • The number of Lenses has increased 50X from 40,000 in 2018 to over 2 million in 2022.

  • Snapchat users play with Lenses for over 3.5 billion minutes in total per day.

  • Top Lenses get viewed billions of times each, like the invisible filter.

As you can see, AR Lenses are hugely popular with Snapchat‘s largely Gen Z user base. These visually-driven users can‘t get enough of the creative, futuristic effects.

The immense creativity unleashed by Lenses is apparent in the exponentially growing library of user-made Lenses too.

Lenses is clearly an area Snapchat is investing in heavily. And advanced ones like the invisible filter represent the future of social AR.

Expect to see more pioneering Lenses that transform our social media experiences!

Similar AR Lenses on Snapchat

If you love showing off the impossible with AR, here are some other Snapchat Lenses to try out after mastering the invisible filter:

Portal Lens – Adds a trippy wormhole you can step into, putting a twisted spin on the disappearing act.

Time Machine Lens – Set a timer to make it look like you‘re teleporting through space and time. Super cool effect!

Shrinking Lens – Makes you gradually shrink down small enough to fit in a hand. Fun for playing giant/tiny person.

Phantom Lens – Adds a ghostly overlay that follows your motions for a haunting effect.

Skeleton Lens – Transforms you into a dancing, jumping skeleton as you move around. Spooky and fun!

Color Smoke Lens – Fills your shape with artistic clouds of rainbow smoke billowing around you. Mesmerizing!

Snapchat is filled with groundbreaking AR lenses that let you perform visual wizardry. After mastering the invisible filter, try out some other lenses that distort reality.

Have fun exploring all of Snapchat‘s effects. With so many innovative ones to choose from, you can get really creative!

Final Tips for Snapchat Expertise

Before you get snapping, here are a few final pro tips from a Snapchat aficionado:

Replay Messages – Long press a snap to replay messages once each. Useful if you missed a detail!

Rearrange Stories – Long press on Stories to customize the order based on who you want to see first.

Save to Memories – Hold down on any photo you take or receive to save it permanently to Memories.

Pin Content – Hold down on a Chat to pin it, making it easily accessible at the top of your list.

Add Alt Accounts – Link more Snapchat accounts in your Settings to seamlessly switch between them.

Video Call – Open a Chat, tap the Video icon, and say hello face-to-face with live video chatting.

Snap Map – Open the Map to see public Stories and locations of friends if they choose to share.

Snapcodes – Create a custom design with your unique Snapcode that friends can scan to follow you easily.

Explore all of Snapchat‘s features to unlock its full potential. The invisible filter is just the beginning – happy snapping!

AlexisKestler

Written by Alexis Kestler

A female web designer and programmer - Now is a 36-year IT professional with over 15 years of experience living in NorCal. I enjoy keeping my feet wet in the world of technology through reading, working, and researching topics that pique my interest.