Snapchat 4.0.1.0 for Windows (official Store app)

Snapchat 4.0.1.0 for Windows is the official desktop app of the photo and video messaging service, published by Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, in the Microsoft Store. Before you download Snapchat for PC, know that it is a web app: it opens Snapchat for Web in its own window, works the same way as the browser version and relies on the Edge or Chrome web runtime on your computer.

What this app is, and what it is not

Snapchat itself is a social media app for sending photos, short videos and messages to friends and posting stories. It was created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown and launched in September 2011. Snap Inc. builds the full apps for iOS and Android, and the phone remains the place where the camera, lenses and every other feature work as intended. The Windows app is not a port of the mobile app: it packages Snapchat for Web as an installable program with its own window, a Start menu entry and a taskbar icon. Chats, snaps and video calls work as they do in the browser, and you sign in with your normal account and confirm the login from your phone. Because the app comes from Snap, it follows the service's changes together with the web version. That is the core trade-off: a tidy desktop window instead of a browser tab, with the same feature set as Snapchat for Web.

Who might consider it

• People who want to read and answer chats on a big screen with a keyboard.
• Users who prefer a separate window and taskbar icon to yet another browser tab.

Who may not need it

• Anyone who mainly uses lenses, the camera and Spotlight: those live in the phone app.
• People who already keep Snapchat for Web open in a browser, since the app offers the same features.

Account safety

Install the app only from the Microsoft Store listing published by Snap Inc. Programs from other sites that call themselves Snapchat for PC are not made by Snap, could store your password or ship with unwanted software. Turn on two-factor authentication in the Snapchat app and check the list of logged-in devices from time to time. The catalogue lists the app at about 1.21 MB, which fits a small window around the web version.

Official requirements for Snapchat

According to Snap's support page, the official mobile app runs on Android 5.0 or newer, iOS 14.0 or higher and Fire OS 5+ devices. On a PC, both the Store app and Snapchat for Web need a current browser engine; you sign in with your normal account and confirm it from your phone.

Price

The app is listed as freeware, and Snapchat itself is free to use; Snap sells optional extras inside its official apps. You do not need to pay anyone for a desktop Snapchat app.

Pros and cons

• Pro: a separate desktop window for chats.
• Pro: small program, published by Snap Inc.
• Con: the same features as the web version, not the full mobile app.
• Con: depends on the browser web runtime installed on the PC.

Alternatives

To keep up with friends on a PC through official apps, our site also lists Instagram, Threads, X (Twitter), Reddit and TikTok Web. For Snapchat specifically, you can also use the web version in a browser or the mobile app from Google Play or the App Store.