Snapchat Sees What You're Eating & They've Got a Filter For It

Careful, it might encourage you to eat your pillows.

By Ethan L. Johns
November 29, 2017

Image: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, dummy, that’s just my lunch.

You might easily be able to tell that the stuff on your dinner plate is food, but such a task might not have always been easy for a computer. Until now, that is, because Snapchat can now tell what you’re eating.

This week, the company launched a new line of contextual filters that can be added to users’ photos. These filters analyze the image that has been taken and use some undoubtedly complex algorithm to suggest context-specific overlays.

Snapchatting somebody your Thanksgiving dinner? The app might suggest a filter that reads, "What diet?!" or one that displays checkboxes reading “Single. Taken. Hungry.” with the “Hungry” box checked. Try it yourself with your next burger, slice of pizza, or French toast forest casserole.

If you don’t eat food (come on, now), you can also taking photos of you dog, Fifi, who might not be too happy about you taking his photo without permission. The app reportedly recognizes the beach and the sky as well, although it might just mistake your bunny rabbit pillow for a family meal, as Mashable discovered.

Interesting first steps in the food-image-identification game, but we’ll be really impressed when Snapchat filters start to take positions on whether or not chili should have beans in it.

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About Ethan L. Johns

Ethan is the Food News Writer at Genius Kitchen. An expert on the Parisian bistrot, he likes bitters and salted butters, and is no fan of dessert unless it's made with fruit. His hobbies include reading up on the history of borscht and attempting to roll perfect couscous by hand. Twits & Instagram @EthanLJohns