Smartphone users experiencing an issue with the Snapchat camera are not alone, considering the app appears to be having widespread issues today. With Snapchat being a service that’s primarily focused on images, the inability to send or receive photos through the app is a major issue for users. Right now, it remains to be seen when the problem will be resolved.
Although there are many apps and services that focus on photos and pictures, Snapchat has managed to distance itself from similar options by focusing on the quick-disappearing nature of the service. In addition, Snap has continually added new ways for users to engage and communicate with each other, including Snapchat Lenses, and Snap games. However, in spite of these additional features, photo-sharing remains an essential part of the Snapchat experience.
Over the last few hours, there have been multiple user reports emerging on other social media platforms, including Twitter, stating the Snapchat app is down. Similarly, Down Detector has also registered a massive spike in complaints today. While down instances like this can result in multiple problems and issues being reported, on this occasion, Snapchat users seem to be encountering exactly the same issues. For example, a Snapchat camera black screen and the inability to send or receive snaps. Furthermore, this appears to be an issue affecting users in multiple countries, and on both Android and iPhone.
Snapchat Camera Stops Working, Turns Black
Essentially, all of the complaints point to the Snapchat camera having suddenly stopped working. According to the reports, users can still access the camera section of the app’s interface, however, there is no actual feed from the camera coming through. Instead, users are simply presented with a black screen. Some users have noted how they initially thought this to be related to the actual device's camera and not the app, but checks through other apps, including the camera app, have ruled that out. In addition, Snapchat’s support account on Twitter has recently confirmed the issue, stating it is currently being investigated.
While Snapchat appears to be aware of the camera issue, there has been no mention yet of when the problem will be fixed. Likewise, as there is no firm information on what is causing the issue, it also remains unclear whether users can expect the app to suddenly start working again, or if an update will need to be deployed and installed to fix the issue. The black camera issue follows another recent problem that affected the app, where a Snapchat map glitch temporarily revealed user locations to strangers.
Source: #snapchatdown/Twitter