A photo filter is a pre-made template for adjusting the contrast, color balance, and other aesthetic settings of a digital photo. Instead of manually adjusting these aspects, a filter can be applied to quickly achieve the desired effect.

While filters were once limited to photo editing programs like Photoshop, social networks like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook have made them widely available. Since filters are intended to be a one-size-fits-all solution to photo editing, a pre-made filter produces varied results. To accommodate for this, some apps like Instagram allow you to change the opacity of the filter, giving you the freedom to adjust the filter further.

Some users refer to photo filters interchangeably with AR lenses. Some apps refer to them as filters or “face filters” because it is less confusing to think of photo filters and AR lenses as separate features.

Camera terms, Internet terms, Social network

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