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ZDNET's key takeaways
- Snapchat's Imagine Lens is now free for all US users.
- The AI Lens turns your typed prompts into custom images.
- Free users get limited generations daily.
Snapchat is expanding its new Imagine Lens. It's the app's first open-prompt AI image-generation lens. With it, you can type anything and watch your idea come to life inside the Snapchat camera. Until recently, this was an exclusive feature for Lens+ and Platinum subscribers, but now anyone in the US can try it for free -- no subscription required.
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According to Snap, users interact with Lenses more than eight billion times per day. But this one seems especially neat. It's like having DALL-E or Midjourney built right into the app. You can turn yourself into anything, try on Halloween costume ideas, transform your living spaces, and more. Here's how to find and use the lens, plus a few tips I recommend after trying it myself.
How to find and use Snap's Imagine Lens
What you'll need: Just your phone with the latest version of the Snapchat app for iOS or Android, and an idea for a prompt.
Snapchat's new open-prompt AI lens, called the Imagine Lens, should appear near the front of your Lens Carousel, but you can also search for it manually.
- Open the Snapchat app. You should be on the Camera screen.
- Next to the record button, you'll find your Lens Carousel.
- Look for the lens near the front, or tap the search icon at the bottom and type "Imagine Lens."
- Once the lens appears, tap to open it and wait for the camera overlay to load.
The Imagine Lens has an icon that looks like a chat bubble with stars inside it, along with an "AI" label.
This is where the fun begins. The Imagine Lens works like any text-to-image generator, but it's built right into Snapchat's cameras. Just point your camera, enter a prompt, and start experimenting.
- With the Imagine Lens open, tap the Edit caption bar at the bottom of the screen.
- Type a short description of what you want. For example, "turn my living room into an atomic-era aesthetic interior design" or "turn this black dress orange."
- You can also try one of the preloaded prompts that Snapchat provides to spark ideas. Just hit the Edit button, leave the field blank, and Snap will serve up some suggestions.
- Tap your camera screen, or the view, to start the generation process.
Snapchat will now use generative AI to build a custom image on top of your view or selfie in just a few seconds.
Once the Imagine Lens finishes generating your idea, you'll see it appear live in the camera preview. From here, you can refine your creation or run another prompt if you're not satisfied.
- If you don't like what you see, edit your prompt and try again.
- Experiment with lighting. Your original Snap should be clear, evenly lit, and in focus.
- Use the zoom or flip camera buttons if you want to get closer or change angles and perspectives.
- The key is to try different things -- and words. Even small wording tweaks can produce very different results.
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When you're happy with the generated image, you can save or share it just like any other Snap. Tap the arrow icon at the top of your screen to send it to a friend or add it to your Snapchat Story. You can also download it to your camera roll if you want to post it elsewhere, like Instagram, TikTok, or X.
Is Snap's Imagine AI lens free to use?
Initially limited to subscribers, Imagine Lens is now free in the US -- but with limited daily generations.
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Snapchat says it's giving everyone a handful of free generations to start, with the option to get more later. When you reach your generation limit, the app will display a notification. You can subscribe to Lens+ or Snapchat Platinum for unlimited prompts.
Is Snap's Imagine AI lens available worldwide?
It's currently rolling out to all users in the US first, followed by Canada, the UK, and Australia. More regions will come later.
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Any prompt-writing tricks and tips to know?
ZDNET has a guide on how to write the perfect AI prompt, but the TL;DR version is:
- Keep prompts short and specific: Avoid long or complex sentences. The AI responds best to clear, concise phrases. For example, "make me into a scary Halloween witch" or "turn my kitchen into a futuristic NASA command center."
- Include color, lighting, style, and atmosphere cues: Details like "atomic-era aesthetic," "golden hour light," "3D realistic," or "comic-book style" help the AI better determine the mood and look you want.
- One subject per prompt: The AI performs best when you give it one clear focus. If you try to combine too many ideas ("make me a witch in space riding a broom underwater"), the result may get chaotic. Keep it simple.
You don't need to type phrases like "I want" or "can you make." Go straight to what you want the AI to create. Enter "vintage 1970s living room with green walls and yellow retro furniture" rather than "can you make my living room old-looking."
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