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A Snap Camera alternative for calls and streams
Snap Camera stopped working on 25 January 2023. If you miss having something fun on your webcam in Zoom or on stream, here is what Pop Magics does, and, just as plainly, what it doesn't.
What happened to Snap Camera
Snap Camera was Snap's free desktop app that put Snapchat Lenses on your webcam and showed up as a camera in Zoom, Teams and streaming apps. Snap shut it down on 25 January 2023 and asked people to uninstall it. Copies of the old installer still sit on download sites, but they no longer work: the servers behind them are off.
What Pop Magics does
Pop Magics is a desktop app for Mac and Windows 11 that turns your webcam into a live AR stage. You place 3D text, stickers and characters on the real surfaces of your room, a wall, a shelf, a door, and they stay there as you move, instead of sliding around like a sticker on the lens. Live Twitch and YouTube alerts can pop up as 3D bubbles.
The result comes out as a camera called Pop Magics. Pick it in Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, or add it to OBS for Twitch and YouTube, just as you once picked Snap Camera.
Snap Camera and Pop Magics side by side
| Snap Camera | Pop Magics | |
|---|---|---|
| Still available | No, shut down in January 2023 | Yes, on Mac and Windows 11 |
| Face lenses and masks | Yes, its core | No, Pop Magics is not a face filter |
| 3D text, stickers and characters placed in your room | No | Yes, its core |
| Live Twitch and YouTube alerts on camera | No | Yes, as 3D bubbles |
| Shows up as a camera in Zoom, Teams, Meet and OBS | Yes, until 2023 | Yes |
| Price | Was free | Free plan at 720p with a watermark; Creator for Full HD without it |
When Pop Magics is not the right pick
If what you miss is a face filter, dog ears, a mask that follows your head, Pop Magics is not that. Content sticks to the room, not to you. It is also not a green-screen or blurred-background tool. It is for putting something real-looking in the room behind you: a title on the wall, a character on the shelf, an alert that lands in the scene.
Get started in a few minutes
- Download Pop Magics for Mac or Windows 11 and install it.
- Open it, point your webcam at your room, and place your first 3D text on a wall.
- In Zoom, Teams, Meet or OBS, choose Pop Magics as the camera. If it doesn't show up, this fix guide helps.
Put something on your camera again
Start on the Free plan, no card needed. Paid plans remove the watermark.
Get started freeFAQ
Is Snap Camera still available?
No. Snap shut down the Snap Camera desktop app on 25 January 2023 and asked people to uninstall it. Old installers still float around download sites, but they no longer work because Snap's servers behind them are off.
Can Pop Magics use Snapchat Lenses?
No. Pop Magics has its own 3D text, stickers, characters and alerts. It cannot load Snapchat Lenses, and it is not a face filter.
Does Pop Magics work in Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?
Yes. Pop Magics appears as a camera called Pop Magics. Choose it in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, OBS or any app that lets you pick a webcam.
Is Pop Magics free?
There is a Free plan with no time limit: the full app at 720p with a Pop Magics watermark. Creator gives Full HD 1080p with no watermark.
Which computers does it run on?
A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, or a PC with Windows 11 (64-bit).