Augmented reality takes something that’s real and alters it using technology.

One of the best examples of augmented reality successfully applied to the consumer market was with the Pokemon Go gaming app.

The app accessed the user’s camera and added fictional elements to the screen.

But now, social media channels are implementing augmented reality on their platforms as well. I’m sure you’re familiar with Snapchat’s face filters.

Facebook jumped on this bandwagon as well with their camera effects platform.

They are taking augmented reality to a whole new level with these features. They even built an augmented reality studio for developers to design unique animations.

These filters respond to motion and interactions in real-time, even during live streams.

Here’s an example of what this looks like during a Facebook Live broadcast:

Since Facebook also runs Instagram, it’s safe to say these types of options will be available on that platform as well during 2018.

I’m expecting to see big changes in social media augmented reality in the near future that will be much more impressive than just a dogface filter.