How to Face Swap on Snapchat

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 29, 2019

With Snapchat's "Lenses" feature, you can swap faces with your friend to create some truly bizarre Snaps. You can also have Snapchat scan the pictures saved on your device to find other faces you can swap with, such as your favorite celebrity or a statue.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Face Swapping with Someone Live

1
Update Snapchat to the latest available version. In order to take advantage of the new face swapping features, you'll need to be running the latest version of Snapchat. Face swapping was introduced in version 9.25.0.0, released in February 2016. You can update Snapchat using your device's app store.
- On Android, open the Play Store, tap ☰, and then tap "My apps." Look for Snapchat in the "Updates" section.
- On iOS, open the App Store, tap the "Updates" tab, and look for Snapchat.
2
Line up your face in the Snapchat camera. Make sure you're in a well-lit area and your entire face is on the screen. You can be using either the front or rear camera.

Advertisement
3
Press and hold on your face until a wireframe appears. This will open the Lenses feature, which allows you to select from various effects to morph your face.
- Lenses are only available on Android devices running 4.3+ and iPhones running iOS 7.0+. If you can't get Lenses to start, your device may be too old to use it.
4
Select the yellow Face Swap Lens effect. Swipe through the available Lenses until you reach the end of the selection. You'll see the yellow Face Swap option towards the end of the selection. It has a picture of two smiley faces with arrows between them.
- The purple Face Swap option will allow you to swap with a picture stored on your device. See the next section for details.
5
Line up your faces with the two smiley face overlays. Hold your phone so that you and the other person are lined up in the smiley faces on the screen. They'll both turn yellow when you're in the right spot, and then your faces will be swapped automatically.
- Any movements you make will be with the simulated face. So when you open your mouth, your friend's simulated face on your head will open its mouth. You can use this to make your friend make a face they normally wouldn't!
- Users have reported getting this to work with near-to-life faces as well, such as detailed statues. Give it a try with a statue or painting nearby and see what happens!
6
Take a Snap with your swapped faces. Once your faces have been swapped, you can take a Snap like you normally would. Tap the circle button to take a photo Snap, or press and hold to record a video.
7
Save and send your Snap. Now that you've taken your Snap, you can make edits, save it, and send it off to your friends.
- Tap the Sticker, Text, and Pencil buttons to add stickers, text, and drawings to the Snap.
- Tap the Send button to select people you want to send the Snap to. After selecting recipients, the Snap will be sent.
- Tap the "Add to My Story" button to add the Snap to your Story. This will make it visible to all of your friends for 24 hours.
- If you want to save your new picture or video before sending it off, tap the Download button to save it to your device's gallery or camera roll. Saving is optional.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Face Swapping with a Saved Picture

1
Make sure Snapchat is up to date. You'll need to be running version 9.29.3.0 of Snapchat in order to access this new Lens. This update was released in April 2016 for both iOS and Android. You can check for updates in your device's app store.^{[1]
X
Research source}
2
Make sure the photos you want to face swap with are on your device. Snapchat will scan the pictures on your device and find faces to swap with. You'll then be able to select from these faces in Snapchat when selecting the Face Swap lens.
- You can use pictures you've taken with your camera as well as pictures that you've saved or downloaded from the internet. You can use this feature to swap your face with someone famous or fictional, or with a friend that's thousands of miles away.
3
Launch Snapchat and line up your face. You'll need to be in a well-lit room and your entire face should be in the frame.
4
Press and hold on your face. A wireframe outline should appear after a moment, and the various Lenses will appear at the bottom of the screen. Make sure you hold your device steady while pressing on your face.
- Lenses may not work on older devices. If the wireframe does not appear and the Lenses don't load, your device may be too old to use them.
5
Select the purple Face Swap Lens effect. Scroll all the way to the end of the selection. You'll see the purple Face Swap option with a picture of a camera and a smiley face.
6
Allow Snapchat access to your photos if prompted. You may be prompted to allow the Snapchat app access to your device's photos. This is necessary for this filter to work. Tap "OK" or "Allow" to allow Snapchat to scan your saved photos.
7
Select the face you want to swap with. You'll see all of the faces that Snapchat was able to detect in the pictures stored on your device. Selecting a face will apply it to your face immediately. You can't browse through the photos on your device. Snapchat scans your pictures to find faces to use.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Because you can use any picture stored on your device, this feature allows for some creative face swapping. You can even use pictures of animated characters, if they're detailed enough to get recognized by Snapchat as faces. For example, many modern video games feature faces that are incredibly realistic, and Snapchat can pick out these faces from screenshots saved to your phone.
- You can download a picture of your favorite celebrity and easily swap faces using this effect as well. Try to find pictures taken directly on so that you can see the person's whole face.
8
Take a Snap with the face you've selected. Once you've selected the face you want to use, you can record your Snap like normal. Tap the circle button to take a photo Snap, or press and hold it to record a video Snap. You can move your face and the swapped face will morph accordingly.
9
Save and send the Snap. After taking your Snap, you can make edits and send it off to friends.
- If you really like the Snap you created with the swapped face, you can save it to your device before sending it so that it isn't lost forever. Tap the Download button to save the Snap.
- Tap the Sticker, Text, and Pencil buttons to add stickers, text, and drawings to your photo or video Snaps.
- Tap the "Add to My Story" button to send the Snap to your Snapchat Story. This will make it visible to all of your friends for 24 hours.
- Tap the Send button to select the friends that you want to send your Snap to.