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The Daily Tar Heel

The Snapvestigation: one man, 27 filters

You’re out with your friends. You have to let your followers know what you’re doing, so naturally you take a Snapchat for your story. But how will they know where you are?

Just swipe right a few times (no, not that swipe right) and if you’re #blessed there might be a Snapchat Geofilter for your location, aka the perfect addition to complete your bomb selfie.

If you’re a student at UNC, you’re in luck. Last time the DTH checked in, there were six filters around campus. That’s awesome, right?

Since then, nearly nine months have passed. So much has gone on in the Geofilter world, and the students deserve the truth.

So, instead of writing papers and studying for midterms, I did what any good investigative journalist would do: I picked up my iPhone and hit the streets of Chapel Hill, committed to finding the truth.

Over the past week, I’ve spent hours scouring every inch of UNC’s campus. What I found will change EVERYTHING.

After days of investigation, I found 27 different Snapchat Geofilters in and around Chapel Hill. TWENTY-SEVEN.

So you want to know the truth? Here it is:

The Basics: Available pretty much anywhere on campus.

UNC-Chapel Hill Bell Tower

Straight and to the point, nothing says UNC like the Bell Tower.

Rating: 3 / 5

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The classiest filter on campus, in my opinion.

Rating: 4 / 5

Town of Chapel Hill

Just in case you forgot where you were, this filter is here to remind you.

Rating: 2 / 5

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Chapel Hill with the Old Well

You can’t mention Chapel Hill without thinking of the Old Well, much less the Old Well Snapchat filter.

Filter Rating: 4/ 5

Background Rating: 5 / 5

South Campus Snaps: Take a stroll down memory lane to your first year at Carolina.

Dean Dome

It’s the go-to filter for any student freezing in line waiting for the Phase 4 gates to finally open.

Rating: 2 / 5

Kenan-Flagler Business School 

Just in case your friends need to remind you how much smarter they are than you.

Rating: 3 / 5

1789 Carolina

The newest addition to the filter family was added a few days ago.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

#DormLife: These residence halls are putting the rest to shame. Pick it up, HOJO.

Manning West 

Perhaps one of UNC’s rarest filters can only be found near Craige North and Hardin Residence Halls. 

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Hardin Residence Hall

Yassss ladies, slay.

Rating: 4 / 5

Old East

SMH. Step it up, Old West.

Rating: 2 / 5

Social Snaps: Where you can meet up with friends AND work on your selfie game.

The Pit

As the legend goes, if you sit in the Pit for a day, you’ll see every UNC student send a Snap.

Rating: 4 / 5

Top of Lenoir

The last of its kind… RIP Ram’s Head filter.

Rating: 3 / 5

The Old Well

If you take a Snapchat on FDOC with this filter, you’re guaranteed a 5.0 GPA.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Nerd Alert: We all know you came here just for the filter, stop acting like you’re studying.

Davis Library at UNC 

Don’t let the filter fool you, this is where dreams go to die.

Rating: 1 / 5

The Undergraduate Library 

Don’t let the filter fool you, this is where dreams do die (after 2 a.m.) 

Rating: -1 / 5

Ah, the City: Chapel Hill. Drink it in, it always goes down smooth.

Franklin Street

Whether it’s empty at 2 a.m. on a summer night, or packed full of people after beating Dook, you can never go wrong with this filter.

Rating: 4 / 5

Chapel Hill, N.C.

An artsy, classy touch to any Snapchat from Chapel Thrill.

Rating: 5 / 5

Greetings from Chapel Hill

You can use this filter to send a modern-day postcard to all of your closest relatives.

Rating: 4 / 5

Bull City


via GIPHY

Rating: 1/ 5

Srat Life: Nothing says sisters for life like a great Geofilter!


Let’s be real, AXO is running the srat snap game with three different filters. Step it up, ladies. the photo gallery (there are three for axo, only one for the rest) 

There you have it, the 27 Snapchat Geofilters scattered around campus. But just because there are so many new filters, we can’t forget where we started:

RIP Original UNC Geofilter (2015-2015) 

@zach_goins

swerve@dailytarheel.com