Snapchat is nearly a decade old! After all this time, Snapchat is finally launching a web version of its app. Initially only available to Snapchat+ subscribers in select regions, Snapchat for web enables users to send messages and make video calls directly from their desktop PCs, providing yet another way to engage with your connections.
As Snapchat explains:
“Open your laptop and head to web.snapchat.com using Chrome to start a call or pick up where chats left off on mobile. With more than 100 million Snapchatters using our voice and video calling each month on average, we’re excited to offer a new way for our community to keep conversations going on their computers, where they’re already working, learning, and browsing.”
Snap Your Fingers
Take heed of the word ‘Working’ in the statement above as it’ll likely be a big motivator in the long run – with so many people now wanting to shift to a hybrid work model in the wake of the pandemic, it’s very likely that Snapchat also sees an opportunity to maximize its connections by creating a separate web app.
That, coupled with the fact that its audience is getting older, along with facilitating more ways to link into various, more private discussions, could drive new usage behaviors in the app. The new web interface will include a range of options, including ‘Chat Reactions’ and ‘Chat Reply’. Similar to the original app, Snaps will still disappear after 24hrs, with web views counting similarly as in-app opens of a message.
Snap will also eventually add Lenses to its web app as it looks to increase functionality. As noted, it could be an interesting and engaging way for Snap to expand its usage, albeit being available in limited form as of the moment. Again, only Snapchat+ subscribers in the US, UK, and Canada currently have access.
As a refresher, Snapchat+, which is basically Snap’s ‘Twitter Blue’ variant, is its exclusive subscriber option that includes a range of extra goodies for only $3.99 a month. Also, like Twitter Blue, many of Snapchat+’s extras aren’t really that enticing, unless you’re really a bleeding-edge Snap enthusiast. Maybe if Snap adds in more elements like this to its subscription offer, then it could be a more interesting option.
The Wrap
Regardless, Snapchat on web will eventually be made available to all users, while those in Australia and New Zealand will soon be able to access the option, via this link. Right now, Google Chrome is the only search engine that supports Snap on web, but the company is looking to add support for more browsers, which will eventually facilitate expanded opportunities to engage with friends through Snap.
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