While Facebook and Instagram have been pretty loose in 'reimagining' Snapchat's best features for its own ends, Snapchat is now fighting back against social sticky fingers.

Sending a message

Snapchat users can now instantly chat with their friends on the platform, and even include personalised Bitmoji widgets for them, along with avatars.

These widgets can be accessed from the iOS Today screen or Android home screen.

Talk it out

Until now, Snapchatters had to search through threads to chat with pals. This update will mean users can chat to their hearts' content with one another.

This could have a twofold effect: keeping users away from increasingly similar features from Messenger and Instagram, and boost Snapchat's engagement levels for advertisers.

The direct chat update is now available globally on iOS and Android.