Snap Inc., operator of the Snapchat picture-based texting app, announced Wednesday (June 29) it is launching a subscription service that will essentially be an enhanced version of its traditional advertising-funded platform.
Called Snapchat+, the new service will make “a collection of exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features available in Snapchat,” according to a company press release. While standard Snapchat accounts are free, Snapchat+ will cost $3.99 per month.
The new service will include features such as special badges, “ghost trails” on Snap Maps that reveal the paths of a user’s “friends,” customization options for the Snap icon and the pinning of Snap “friends” to the top of chat windows, according to a CNET report.
The official subscription announcement came just a month after the company issued a profit warning that reflects the digital advertising slump that is hitting many social media players. In May, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel reportedly wrote in a memo to staff that “while our revenue continues to grow year over year, it is growing more slowly than we expected at this time.”
See also: Snap Says Hiring, Spending Will Slow After Issuing Profit Warning
Various media outlets also noted that Snap’s move to offer a premium service follows Twitter’s decision last year to offer a subscription service called Twitter Blue that includes the ability to to undo Tweets. Snapchat most recently reported having 332 million unique daily users.
The company said the new service initially will roll out in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, expanding to other countries later on.
In May, Snap offered users another incentive to communicate via its platform: the ability to send eBay listings to friends merely by taking pictures of those listings with the Snapchat camera.
Read more: Snapchat Users Can Now Share eBay Listings
Alongside app-based updates, Snap has also expanded the hardware in its portfolio, including smart glasses and the Pixy drone, which allows users to capture photos hands-free.
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