Are you a Snapchat addict? These simple hacks will level up your Snaps in no time.

1. Type more text on Snapchat

There’s nothing more annoying than typing “Catching up with my baes over brunch an-” only to be cut off because of the word limit in Snapchat’s text box. Don’t throw in the towel just yet, because there’s a simple hack for this.

Go to your Notes app (in iPhone) and open a blank document. Hit the return button a few times then select and copy the blank lines.

Return to Snapchat and paste the blank lines into the text box and voila, you now have more typing space. Now you can wax lyrical about anything and everything.

Copy and paste the blank lines into the Snapchat text box to get extra text space.

2. Reduce cellular data usage.

It’s no secret that Snapchat saps A LOT of data, especially when you’re posting multiple videos. There there, don’t swear off Snapchat yet. Instead, go to your Cellular settings and turn off Cellular Data for the Snapchat app. This way, when you try to upload something to your Story, the upload will fail but still remain saved. You can re-upload it later when you have a Wi-Fi connection.

Just tap on your Snap to re-upload it when you have a working Wi-Fi connection

3. Pimp your selfies.

Wanna vomit rainbows or age-ify yourself? Snapchat’s brand new Lenses feature allows you to add animated effects to your face. Just tap and hold your face while in Selfie mode, then tap and swipe to pick your desired animated effect. Press the circular record button to save and post your snap to your Stories.

You KNOW you totally want to do this.

4. Save original videos and images.

Some Snaps are truly worth saving, so why ruin them with your Snapchat caption? Hit the Save button before you add text to your Snap and post it to your Stories, so you can save your favourite photo or video in all its original glory.

If you save an image or video after posting it to your Stories, it will save the version with your added text and drawings.

5. Swipe left for filters, time and location stickers.

As much as we love Snapchat, many of the features aren’t very intuitive. If you want to pimp your Snaps, swipe left for filters or time and location stickers. You need to have your Location Settings turned on though, so go to your Settings page (on iPhone) then click on the Privacy tab to access your Location Settings.

Swipe left to add a filter or sticker to your Snap. Stickers vary based on your location.

6. Pinch text to make it smaller.

Is your caption blocking too much of your image? Pinch the text to make it smaller, or spread your fingers over the text to make it bigger. You can also use your fingers to adjust the alignment and position of the text.

Adjust the size, position and alignment of your text by pinching or spreading your fingers over the text.

7. Make text stand out.

Snapchat’s default text colour is white, which can be a problem if your photo’s background is too light. You can choose other colours for your text, but the selection of shades is generally kind of fugly (I mean, is it so hard to have black or grey text?!).

To make your text stand out more, colour the background using the Pencil feature. Your white text will really pop against the coloured background.

Colour the background to make your white text more visible.

8. Mute videos before posting.

Having a bitch fest while Snapchatting your brunch? Don’t forget to mute your video before posting it to your Stories. Just click on the horn icon at the bottom left of your video screen, and your video will be posted to your Stories without sound.

This doesn’t affect the sound on your actual video though, so if you save it to your phone the video will still have the original sound.