Snapchat users in the UAE will soon be able to access the app on their desktops. Photo: Snap
Snapchat users in the UAE will soon be able to access the app on their desktops. Photo: Snap
Snapchat users in the UAE will soon be able to access the app on their desktops. Photo: Snap
Snapchat users in the UAE will soon be able to access the app on their desktops. Photo: Snap

Snapchat for Web is coming — here's what it means for UAE users


Evelyn Lau
  • English
  • Arabic

Snapchat is coming to desktop. The platform’s messaging service will soon be available on the web and users will be able to send snaps via their computer rather than solely from a smartphone.

The new service is available to Snapchat+ subscribers in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It will soon arrive in France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, before being rolled out to the rest of the world. However, an exact date for when it will launch in the UAE and Saudi Arabia has not yet been announced.

Users can access Snapchat for Web by visiting web.snapchat.com and logging in. There, they can immediately resume conversations just like on the app. While looking to send pictures, the website will also have several Lenses available on desktop, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks.

In terms of privacy and security, Snapchat for Web has added two-step verficiation from the mobile app. While on PC, conversations will be hidden when a user clicks on another tab, window or task.

Currently, Snapchat for Web is being launched on Chrome and will work with the browser regardless of whether it is a Mac or a PC.

Snap's AR growth in the Mena region

In an exclusive interview with The National earlier this month, Hussein Freijeh, general manager of Snap in the Middle East and North Africa, said the company is trying to strengthen its position in the augmented reality space and provide revenue streams to creators and developers.

“We’re focusing on augmented reality developers to allow them to create experiences and monetise them. We’re hiring local talent in Saudi Arabia to make sure we get more understanding of the culture and bring the nuances across the board,” Freijeh said.

“The GCC is one of the most engaged communities for Snapchat globally, with a wide community of creators and potential partnerships in the advertising market to help drive revenue.”

Instagram launched a desktop version in 2020 and initially only allowed users to like posts and access direct messages. Last year, the Meta-owned app added the ability to post pictures and videos via the desktop version.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Innotech Profile

Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now. 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Updated: July 20, 2022, 7:10 AM`