On Tuesday, Sept. 15 the social media app Snapchat released an unexpected update that captured the attention of Staples students of every class.

Laughter echoed throughout the library, hallways and classrooms as the new update, which included several new graphics and effects for user’s to play around with, was recognized to rave reviews by Staples students.

The Snapchat official website described the update as allowing users “a whole new way to express yourself through Snapchat Lenses”.

The Lenses feature gives users the chance to apply Hollywood-esque special effects and masks to their own pictures, using a face capturing system similar to that found in movies or television. They range from simple quirks like large cartoon eyes all the way up to complex sci-fi masks.

“I think the new update is really funny, it allows for so much more creativity in your snaps,” Annabelle Lyme ’16 said.

This widespread appreciation of the update was clear as dozens of new “snap stories,” the Snapchat equivalent of a public news feed in Facebook, were posted within minutes of the update going live.

Some Staples students are less enthusiastic about the update, citing the fact that Snapchat has bigger problems that need fixing.

“It just doesn’t really change the app that much” Sam Greenberg ’18 said, “I would rather them focus on hacking and app crashing problems than make little quirky changes”.

The update also allows users the ability to purchase three additional “replays” for 99 cents. This follows a trend in the mobile phone market of allowing micro-transactions in free applications, as applications like Snapchat have been known to operate with a losing profit margin.

With this new update, Snapchat has certainly guaranteed that it will continue to be at the forefront of social media for Staples High School students.