Snapchat is an online photo sharing application, also used to share text and films. Snapchat is free to download and is used on Android and iOS devices. I don't use Snapchat myself, but over 100 million people do!
The site's founders believe this limit prevents users from projecting an idealized or outright fictional version of themselves, thus enabling truer one-to-one communications. The time limit also means the images or text take up less memory on your device, given they delete themselves after the limit expires.
What Makes This Time Limit Such a Good Thing?
The limit makes the the app is popular with teenagers, for as well as taking up little memory, messages and pictures involving themselves are impossible for parents to trace backwards, as can be done with Facebook and Instagram tags.
It's perfect for sending something silly or embarrassing (like an 'ugly selfie') that you don't want hanging around for too long. Advertisers and brands have also found Snapchat to be a cheap and effective way of raising brand awareness in the youth demographic.
For hacking queries on Snapchat, check out How do you hack someone's Snapchat? or How do you hack Snapchat on iPhone with no jailbreak?
This film explains more about Snapchat's secrets: