Snapchat, the app that lets its users share self-destructing messages with each other, has just rolled out Snapchat 2.0, an upgraded version of the service that could compete with more established messaging services like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.

Snapchat now allows users to make voice calls and send audio and video messages within its underutilized Chat function. Users can also now also use the services’ private video-call function, in which users can choose who they want to talk to and start shooting live video immediately. Each guest using this service can communicate either with video, audio, or a text message. In addition, the new update introduces a set of stickers users can tack onto their messages, as well as an autoplay feature for Snapchat Stories.

This slew of updates makes Snapchat a more prominent application in an already crowded field of messaging services in two ways. Firstly, these updates put Snapchat on the same level of Facebook Messenger, which has just received a number of similar updates.

Secondly, Snapchat’s upgrade paves the way for the eventual extinction of traditional cellphone plans. As messaging services become more sophisticated and wifi becomes more readily available worldwide, cellphone users turn to apps like Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, and Whatsapp which allow them to their thoughts via video, audio, or text all without ever having to leave the app. Snapchat occupies a special place among these apps because, in addition to being a messenger app, it offers a news and entertainment service.

Constant innovations like these indicate that Snapchat is not just a passing fad, and could become an important communication tool in the near future.

Sourcing via Vanity Fair.