Snap is launching new personalization and customization features for its subscription-based social media platform, Snapchat+, aiming to increase retention among its paying user base in an intensely competitive market.
The updates, which include the expansion of its AI-powered pet avatars, Bitmoji Pets, and collaborative wallpapers for group chats, add to Snapchat+’s existing personalization features, the company exclusively told Reuters on Tuesday.
Sandwiched between dominant platforms like TikTok and Meta’s Instagram in a crowded social media landscape, Snap is relying on new personalized features to deepen user engagement and attract more paying subscribers.
CEO Evan Spiegel has stated that Snap is at a “crucial moment” and is looking to revive revenue growth and improve gross margins. In August, the company saw its slowest quarterly revenue growth in more than a year.
Spiegel aims to grow revenue by expanding Snapchat+ with premium features, and has set out to make direct revenue “a sustainable billion-dollar growth driver for Snap.”
Snapchat+ has surpassed 16 million subscribers, more than doubling since the beginning of 2024, with more than half of its members aged 21 or older, the company said.
Don’t miss this: TikTok’s latest hit is a strange mix of Nicki Minaj and 4 Non Blondes
The company noted that features focused on friendship and self-expression are especially popular, with nearly 80% of Snapchat+ subscribers having set a custom wallpaper for at least one chat with a friend.
“Our strategy is to improve what’s working and really focus on that, while exploring new opportunities,” said Swetha Dhamodharan, head of Snapchat+ product.
Among the new features, subscribers will soon be able to name their Bitmoji Pet and display it on their Snapchat profile.
Exclusive to Snapchat+, Bitmoji Pets already appear alongside users’ Bitmojis in the app’s Snap Map feature — a map that shows friends’ locations — and within individual chats.
Snap’s Bitmoji feature allows users to create their custom digital avatar or emoji.
Another new feature is the “Wallpaper Remixing” option, which allows both participants in a one-on-one chat to customize the shared chat wallpaper. Previously, only one person could control it.
Snap said custom backgrounds will also extend to group chats, allowing groups of friends to design a collective background that reflects their group’s identity.
These updates follow Snap’s announcement to charge users who store more than 5 gigabytes in their storage for Memories, a photo and video archiving feature launched in 2016.
With information from Reuters.
Get inspired, discover and share. Follow us and find what you are looking for on our Instagram!
