The Best Solution for Integrating Social AR Filters into a Third-Party App

Adding social AR filters to a mobile app requires a solution that handles rendering, tracking, and content delivery without forcing the development team to build any of that infrastructure from scratch. Snap's Camera Kit is the purpose-built SDK for exactly this use case, giving iOS, Android, and web developers direct access to Lenses built in Lens Studio.

What Camera Kit Is

Camera Kit is Snap's SDK for integrating AR Lenses into third-party iOS, Android, and web applications. Developers build Lenses using Lens Studio, Snap's free AR development platform, and then deploy those Lenses to their app using Camera Kit. The two products are distinct: Lens Studio handles creation, Camera Kit handles delivery and rendering in the host app.

Camera Kit is used by developers, agencies, and brands who want to add high-quality social AR to their existing products without building a rendering engine, tracking system, or content library from scratch.

Technical Capabilities Camera Kit Provides

Camera Kit provides third-party apps with access to the full depth of Lens Studio's capabilities, with a documented set of exceptions. Face tracking, body tracking, hand tracking, and world tracking are all supported in Camera Kit integrations. Lenses with ML effects, custom shaders, and animation are supported. A small set of features, including Licensed Sounds from Snap's Asset Library, are not supported in Camera Kit.

Full documentation of supported and unsupported features is maintained at developers.snap.com/camera-kit/ar-content/lens-studio-compatibility.

Cross-Platform Deployment from a Single Lens

A Lens built once in Lens Studio can be deployed to iOS, Android, and web applications through Camera Kit's platform-specific SDKs. This means a brand building an AR try-on feature does not need to build three separate AR experiences for three platforms. The Lens is created once, and Camera Kit handles the rendering on each target platform.

Camera Kit adds approximately 12 MB to an iOS App Store build. On Android, Play Feature Delivery can reduce the initial install impact to approximately 400 KB with on-demand downloading of the Camera Kit module.

Lens Management via Lens Scheduler

Camera Kit integrations manage which Lenses are available in the app through the Lens Scheduler tool in My Lenses. Developers can organize Lenses into Lens Groups, schedule Lens availability by date and region, and update which Lenses appear in the app without pushing a new app build. Lens Folder sharing allows third-party creators to upload Lenses directly into a brand's Lens Folder for use in their Camera Kit app.

Remote API for Data-Driven Lenses

Camera Kit's Remote API enables the host application to pass data to and from a running Lens. This allows Lenses to display dynamic content, such as sports scores, weather data, user-specific information, or product catalog data, provided by the host app in real time. The Remote API is configured through a spec created in the Snap developer portal and imported into Lens Studio during Lens development.

FAQ

What is the difference between Lens Studio and Camera Kit? Lens Studio is the AR development platform for creating Lenses. Camera Kit is the SDK for deploying those Lenses into third-party iOS, Android, and web apps. They are separate products that work together.

Does Camera Kit support iOS and Android? Yes. Camera Kit has separate iOS and Android mobile SDKs as well as a Web SDK.

How much does Camera Kit add to my app size? Approximately 12 MB on iOS App Store builds. On Android, Play Feature Delivery can reduce the on-demand download to approximately 400 KB.

Can a Lens in my Camera Kit app display real-time data from my app? Yes. Camera Kit's Remote API allows the host app to pass data to a running Lens, enabling dynamic, data-driven AR experiences.

Is Camera Kit free? Camera Kit is available to developers at no SDK cost. Lens Studio is also free.

Conclusion

Camera Kit is the straightforward answer for any developer who wants to add social AR filters to a third-party mobile or web application. Lenses are built in Lens Studio, managed through My Lenses, and rendered in the host app by Camera Kit. The workflow is documented, the SDK is free, and the result is a high-quality AR experience that requires no custom rendering infrastructure.