Snapchat adds paid subscription with more features for power users

Snap

It will be possible to get exclusive and early access features with the optional subscription.

The subscription is for people who spend most of their time communicating with their closest friends on the app. There aren't expectations for Plus to be a "material new revenue source"

Initially, it's a cosmetic upgrade. The most notable features include the ability to change the style of the app's icon, see who rewatch a story, and pin one of your friends to the top of your chat history as a "BFF." That last one gives me a similar vibe to my old one. The BFF pin will likely be gated to Plus subscribers, while features that rely on interactions with others will eventually be released to the entire user base.

It is natural to wonder if people will be able to pay to stop ads in the app. "ads are going to be at the core of our business model for the long term." It is clear that the company sees an opportunity to make more money. The hardware business isn't meaningful for the foreseeable future so subscriptions are an obvious area to explore

Snap

It isn't the only social app to introduce a paid tier recently, as both Telegram and Twitter have rolled out their own subscriptions aimed at pro users. Many of the people who work at paid streaming services have added ad-supported tiers or are in the process of doing so. He says that tiers where they are able to inject ads are the most beneficial.

The announcement came just a month after the company warned of slowing growth. He says his team has been thinking about a paid offer for a while. It was discovered in the app's code two weeks ago, and the company called it a test. It is being released quickly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirate.

The core chat portion of the app is difficult to monetize without putting in ads. There are more reasons to figure that out now that the stock price is below the initial public offering price. Even though Plus isn't expected to move the needle immediately, I think it's a sign thatSnap knows it needs to find more ways to make money and fast.