Apps Like Snapchat for Android: Messaging and Filters
Instagram comes closest, with stories, vanish mode and filters. WhatsApp and Signal have timed messages. B612 and SNOW are cameras with filters only.
People who look for an app like Snapchat are after one of two things. Some want the messaging: photos and chats that delete themselves, and stories that last a day. Others only want the camera, with its filters and Lenses. The two groups mostly need different apps, so this page keeps them apart.
For the messaging apps, the minimum age and the rules for disappearing messages come from each maker’s own help pages and terms. The camera apps are described from their Google Play listings. Apps built around chatting with strangers are left out on purpose.
What Snapchat itself does
It helps to know what you are replacing. Snapchat Support says Snaps are deleted from its servers once everyone they were sent to has viewed them. Chats are deleted 24 hours after viewing unless you change the setting to straight after viewing, seven days or never. Stories usually expire 24 hours after posting. The minimum age is 13, and Snapchat adds that the law where you live can set a different one.
Messaging apps compared
| App | Maker | On Google Play | Minimum age | Disappearing messages | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snapchat | Snap Inc | Free with ads, in-app purchases | 13 | Snaps after viewing, chats after 24 hours by default | 24 hours |
| Free with ads, in-app purchases | 13 in most countries, 16 in Australia | Vanish mode, view-once photos and videos | 24 hours | ||
| WhatsApp LLC | Free, in-app purchases | 13, or higher where the law says | 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, plus view once | Status, 24 hours | |
| Signal | Signal Foundation | Free, in-app purchases | 13 | A timer per chat, up to 4 weeks | 24 hours |
| Telegram | Telegram FZ-LLC | Free, in-app purchases | 18 in the EU, the UK and Australia | A self-destruct timer in Secret Chats | Yes |
| Messenger | Meta Platforms, Inc. | Free, in-app purchases | 13 in most countries, by Facebook’s rule | A timer in end-to-end encrypted chats | 24 hours |
Instagram: the closest match
Instagram covers more of Snapchat than anything else here. Its listing says Stories and Notes disappear after 24 hours, and that you can customise posts with stickers and filters.
For messages, its help centre describes three separate tools. Vanish mode makes everything sent in a chat disappear when someone leaves the chat or switches the mode off, and Instagram says the feature may be unavailable in Japan and in European countries. A disappearing photo or video can be seen once, unless you allow a replay. Timed disappearing messages exist too, but only in certain locations and only between two accounts.
The minimum age is 13 in most countries. Instagram’s help page lists 14 for South Korea, Spain, Quebec and Florida, and 16 for Australia.
WhatsApp: timers on ordinary chats
WhatsApp’s help page says messages can be set to disappear 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days after they are sent. The timer applies to both people and to new messages only. There are gaps, and WhatsApp lists them itself: a message forwarded to a chat without the timer stays there, a quoted message can outlive the original, and a backup made before a message disappears will contain it.
View once is the nearer thing to a Snap. A photo, video or voice message sent this way vanishes after it has been opened once. WhatsApp says the recipient cannot forward, save or screenshot it, and that it expires if it is not opened within 14 days.
Status is WhatsApp’s stories feature, and its listing says updates disappear after 24 hours. WhatsApp’s terms set the minimum age at 13, or higher where a country requires it.
Signal: private, with no ads
Signal’s support page says anyone in a chat can set a disappearing-message timer, with a custom time of up to four weeks. For the sender the clock starts when the message is sent. For the recipient it starts when the message is read. Stories on Signal expire after 24 hours.
Its listing says Signal is a non-profit supported by donations and not by advertisers. Google Play shows an in-app purchases label and no ads label. The terms give a minimum age of 13.
Telegram and Messenger
Telegram keeps self-destructing messages inside Secret Chats, which are end-to-end encrypted and live only on the two devices that started them. Its FAQ says the timer starts when the message appears on the recipient’s screen, and that Telegram will try to notify you if a screenshot is taken. The same timer can be put on photos and videos in ordinary private chats.
Telegram is not one for young teenagers. Its terms say users in the EU, the UK and Australia must be at least 18, and Google Play rates the app Mature 17+.
Messenger lets you set a timer in an end-to-end encrypted chat so that messages disappear after they have been seen. Meta’s help page adds that a message nobody reads disappears after 14 days. Stories last 24 hours. We found no age page for Messenger alone. Meta’s help page for Facebook gives 13 for most countries.
Disappearing does not mean gone
Most of the makers say this themselves. Snapchat’s Google Play listing warns that people can always capture your messages with a screenshot or a camera. Signal’s support page says the feature is not for cases where the other person is your adversary, since they can photograph the screen. WhatsApp blocks screenshots of view once media and still tells you to send it only to people you trust.
Instagram and Messenger say they notify you when they detect a screenshot in vanish mode or in an encrypted chat. Messenger admits it may not detect all of them.
Camera apps with filters
If the camera is all you want, these are camera and editing apps. You take the picture there and send it through whichever messenger you already use.
| App | Maker | On Google Play | What its listing offers |
|---|---|---|---|
| B612 | SNOW Corporation | Free, in-app purchases | Live filters and beauty effects, AR effects updated daily, filters you make and share yourself |
| SNOW | SNOW Corporation | Free, in-app purchases | AR makeup, custom beauty effects, stickers updated daily, seasonal filters |
| Camera360 | PINGUO TECHNOLOGY HK CO LIMITED | Free with ads, in-app purchases | More than 300 filters, makeup filters, moving stickers that follow your face, short videos |
| BeautyPlus | PIXOCIAL TECHNOLOGY (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD. | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Makeup filters and retouching, an anime filter, a film camera mode with six vintage models |
| LINE Camera | SNOW Corporation | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Stickers and frames, filters, stickers made from your own drawings, collages |
| Retrica | Retrica, Inc. | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Retro digicam and film looks shown live before you shoot, no watermark on saved photos |
B612 is the nearest to Snapchat’s Lenses. Its listing describes filters and beauty effects applied in real time, new AR effects every day, and a tool for building a filter of your own to share with friends. It also shoots video and lets you add music. SNOW, from the same company, leans towards AR makeup and stickers.
Camera360 has stickers that track your face and expression, which is the playful side of Snapchat’s camera. BeautyPlus is mostly about retouching selfies. LINE Camera is about stickers and frames, and its listing says the basic features are free without the premium subscription.
Retrica goes the other way from face effects. It recreates the look of early digital cameras and disposable film, with the filter visible in the viewfinder before you press the button. Its listing says most presets can be used without a subscription.
Three of the six come from SNOW Corporation, so the choice is narrower than the store makes it look. If you want a camera app for better photos and not for filters, see our guide to camera apps for Android.
For children under 13
None of the messaging apps above lets a child under 13 sign up on their own. Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp and Signal all set 13 as the minimum, and Snapchat’s age page describes no version for younger children.
Meta makes a separate app, Messenger Kids. Its listing says parents manage the child’s contact list and can see their messages, there are no ads or in-app purchases, and no phone number is needed. It has filters for video chats. Meta’s own site says a parent sets it up through their Facebook account and the child does not get a Facebook account. WhatsApp’s terms also mention parent-managed accounts for under-13s in countries where they are offered.
Which one to pick
- The nearest thing to Snapchat as a whole: Instagram. Stories, vanish mode and filters are all in one app.
- Disappearing messages with people you already chat to: WhatsApp, with the timer set per chat and view once for photos.
- No ads and a non-profit behind it: Signal.
- Only the filters: B612, or Retrica for a retro look.
- A child under 13: Messenger Kids, set up and supervised by a parent.
What happened to the old list
The 2019 version of this article named five apps. Instagram is still the first choice. Facebook still has stories, and for messages you would use Messenger. If the main Facebook app is too heavy for your phone, we cover the options in alternative Facebook apps for Android.
Skype is gone. Microsoft’s support page says Skype was retired on May 5th, 2025 and points its users to Microsoft Teams Free. Its Google Play page no longer exists. Face Swap is now a name shared by many apps, and we could not tell which one the old article meant.
Marco Polo is still on Google Play, free with a paid Plus plan and no ads. It is a video messenger where you record a clip and the other person answers when they have time. That makes it closer to a video call than to Snapchat. For calls that happen live, see our guide to free video calling apps.
Quick answers
What is the closest app to Snapchat?
Instagram. It has stories that last 24 hours, vanish mode and disappearing photos in chats, and filters for your posts.
Which apps have disappearing messages like Snapchat?
Instagram, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and Messenger all have them. WhatsApp’s timers are 24 hours, 7 days or 90 days, and Signal’s goes up to four weeks.
Is there a camera app with filters like Snapchat?
Yes. B612, SNOW and Camera360 are camera apps with live filters, effects and stickers. You send the result through whichever messenger you use.
Is there a version of Snapchat for kids?
Snapchat’s support page sets the minimum age at 13 and describes no children’s version. Messenger Kids from Meta is a messaging app for children that a parent controls.
Can someone screenshot a disappearing message?
Usually, yes. WhatsApp blocks screenshots of view once media, and Instagram and Messenger say they notify you when they detect one, but most makers warn that a second phone or camera can still record the screen.
