CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa At campaign events across the country, the popular messaging start-up Snapchat is gaining traction, featuring real-time video content and ads surrounding the 2016 presidential election.

The social media application, known for its disappearing photos, is now providing live stories from the campaign trail, and a selection of photos and videos available to users all over the world. Americas fastest-growing smartphone app has also developed specialized geofilters and candidate animations in early voting states.

In recent weeks, Snapchat has curated live story selections across the state of Iowa, as candidates descend on the first-in-nation state. Peter Hamby , a national political reporter at CNN who was hired as the director of news for Snapchat this spring, appears in many of these "snaps" to provide commentary.

I was Snapchatting a little bit when I got here, said Enzo Nagao, a frequent Snapchat user who attended the Iowa Democrats Hall of Fame event, which featured all five Democratic presidential candidates on one stage. It was just one of the locations featured in the Campaign 2016 snapchat story collection.

Nagao, 18, will vote in a presidential election for the first time in 2016. He says hes an undecided voter, but the application is helping him scope out the field and make a decision.

Its pretty inspiring. Ive been seeing stories all over Iowa, even all over the country just talking and getting excited, he said.