Facing competition from WhatsApp Business and Telegram, Snapchat launched a paid subscription service – Snapchat+ — to boost revenue. The subscription offers users access to new functionality and exclusive features within the app to elevate their experience.
Priced at $3.99 a month, the subscription is intended for the users who spend a lot of time engaging with close friends. But is it worth the upgrade?
About Snapchat+
Image source: Snapchat.com
In July 2022, Snapchat announced its new subscription service, Snapchat+, which is available on both iPhone and Android devices and allows users to unlock new localization features.
Snapchat+ is the premium subscription that promises access to “a collection of exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features.” Some of these features include the option to pin a friend as a “BFF,” a story rewatch count, and an exclusive badge, some of which can be used by content creators.
One feature Snapchat+ doesn’t offer is the ability to turn off or remove ads from the platform – a feature many users have requested.
Several Snapchat+ competitors have introduced similar subscription plans, such as WhatsApp and Telegram messaging services. Known as WhatsApp Premium and Telegram Premium, respectively, these subscriptions will likely have some similar exclusive benefits.
Top Snapchat+ Features
Pin Friend as BFF
One of the most sought features for Snapchat+ is the ability to pin a friend at the top of the chat window, naming them the number one BFF. Surprisingly, the user doesn’t have to be true friends with the user to pin them.
Still, users who are pinned as each other’s BFFs for two consecutive weeks receive a red heart next to their name on the chat list, indicating the relationship to others.
Snapchat+ Badge
With the Snapchat+ subscription, users receive a star icon next to their profile name to indicate that they are subscribers. This is visible to others when they visit the profile.
Ghost Trails
SnapMaps are an integral component of the Snapchat platform and use GPS data to determine the location of certain Snaps. Users can share their location with friends and family or include popular locations and events in Snaps.
Ghost Trails on SnapMaps allows users to check the location history of their friends for up to 24 hours, making their whereabouts more visible. This is visible only if users are sharing their location, however, alleviating concerns about this feature as a safety risk. Snapchat guarantees that a user has to share their location willingly, and the option is there to clear Ghost Trails data in the personal settings.
Story Rewatch
One of the most exciting features of Snapchat+ is the Story Rewatch, which allows users to see how many friends have rewatched their Snapchat Story. Subscribers will see the emoji under their Stories, indicating which followers have rewatched the content in My Story, Private Stories, or Shared Stories. The number on this feature shows how many users have rewatched the Story in total, not how many times it has been viewed. It also doesn’t show which friends rewatched the Story.
This feature is still experimental, but if successful, it may expand to free users in Snapchat. In fact, features that are affected by interactions with others are likely to be future features on the free version of the platform.
Exclusive Icons
The iconic Snapchat logo is one of its features that appealed to users at its launch. The bright yellow background and quirky avatar are instantly recognizable and appropriate for the younger demographic.
Expanding on this feature, custom icons are included with the Snapchat+ subscription for users to personalize their experience. They can change the color palette, native flag, or the color of the ghost symbol. There are 30 icons in total, but it’s possible that Snapchat+ will add more in the future as the subscription service gains momentum.
To change the logo, users can tap the Snapchat+ membership card at the top of the screen. Then, they can “Tap Icon” to select from a range of design options to customize their app experience.
Friend Solar System
The Friend Solar System allows users to see the friends they speak to most often and rank them, similar to the original concept of selected friends on MySpace. The hierarchy is represented by a solar system design and planetary bodies.
For example, if a user is ranked as Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, that’s the “best friend” slot. The rest of the planets indicate one of the eight closest friends. The friend slots may mean that the user has someone listed as a friend, but they’re not one of that same user’s eight selected friends. The planets means they’re both among each other’s eight selected friends, and ranked according to the order in the solar system.
Users who want to enjoy the Friend Solar System must have a linked Bitmoji, and anyone they select for this list must also have a Bitmoji.
Snapchat+ Price and Availability
Snapchat+ is $3.99 a month, $21.99 for six months, or $39.99 per year and is currently available in nine countries. As more users try the subscription, it’s possible that Snapchat+ will expand to more regions in the near future.
The subscription is currently available in:
- The United States
- The United Kingdom
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
Users also have the option to sign up for a 7-day free trial before fully committing to the service. it will automatically renew after the trial is complete, however, so users have to manually decline to avoid unnecessary charges. The subscription is easy to cancel at any time.
Is Snapchat+ Worth the Upgrade?
Snapchat+ has mixed reviews at this point, but it offers a range of exciting benefits for users and influencers. For example, the Story Rewatch feature can help influencers track engagement on Snapchat, giving them better performance metrics to see how the content is performing. This also offers information about the most successful content to inform future content strategy.
The Friend Solar System and Best Friend Pin bring cohesion and community into the platform. Users can collate their active followers and celebrate them with the Solar System and Pin, showing their appreciation. These features are helpful for the most devoted followers or the dedicated members of the creator’s team.
There are other benefits to Snapchat+. The multiple payment options allow users to select the best option for their needs, whether they want to save by paying for long subscriptions or sticking to a month-to-month plan. The 7-day trial is helpful for users to see if they like the features and if they’re worth paying for the subscription.
Though it’s in its early stages, Snapchat+ has a promising future to elevate the platform, especially in the midst of its ongoing challenges against rivals like Instagram and TikTok. Both YouTube and TikTok released paid features and subscription services for a better experience for the most important users, so Snapchat made itself more competitive by offering this VIP-level experience.
Currently, Snapchat+ is not an ad-free version of the app. Twitter and YouTube offer premium subscriptions with ad-free services, so it’s possible that Snapchat may follow with a paid, ad-free version. This is even more likely given that the younger audiences already use ad-blockers and show frustration with constant sponsored content, driving them to influencers.
But for now, Snapchat+ will still have ads on the platform for brands and influencers to promote content. Like always, it’s vital that the sponsored content appear native and not salesy or pushy, which is a turnoff for these audiences. With this in mind, influencers may have even more sway with users on Snapchat+ subscription service.
How to Sign Up for Snapchat+
Snapchat+ is easy to sign up for if users are in the right market (supported countries).
From the latest version of the Snapchat app, users can press the Snapchat+ banner at the top of the screen on the profile page. Then, users select the free trial option or payment plan, then enter the relevant payment details.
Once the payment is confirmed, users can start exploring Snapchat+ features. If users are choosing the free trial version, they can use the app as soon as the payment method for a future subscription is confirmed.
Users should keep in mind that the subscription renews automatically if it’s not cancelled, so it’s important to pay attention to the timeframe and explore the options. Seven days is plenty of time to determine if the features are worth the subscription fee.
Key Takeaways with Snapchat+
Snapchat+ offers a variety of features that elevate the experience for users and influencers alike. Many of the features maximize the social aspects of the app, and influencers can leverage them to boost engagement and value among followers.
In the future, it’s likely that Snapchat+ will roll out new features and functionality in response to the ever-growing features of competitors like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. While ads are in place now, it’s possible that they may be eliminated from the premium, paid version of the app, shifting influencers to the primary source of marketing for brands on Snapchat.
