You can now replay Snapchats for 99 cents, if you’re into that sort of thing
Snapchat is figuring out a new way to make money since selling Snap swag apparently won’t pay the bills.
Today, the photo messaging app started selling three extra replays of friend’s snaps for 99 cents. Snapchat says in a blog post that the one free replay each day was “sometimes frustrating” to the users who receive several snaps a day. Ten replays can be bought for $2.99 and 20 replays cost $4.99.
“You can use a Replay on any Snap you receive, but you can only Replay any Snap once,” Snapchat’s rules state, ensuring that the ephemeral nature of the app remains. The price tag was widely viewed as ludicrous considering users will not be getting much in return; even Snapchat acknowledges that it’s a “little pricey — but time is money! ;)”
And if there’s one thing Snapchat likes, it’s money. In addition to sponsored filters, Snapchat has been charging brands big bucks to be featured in its Live Stories and Discover channels, although users are lightning quick to tap past them, much to the frustration of ad buyers.
Judging by the initial reaction, it doesn’t sound like too many people will pay for the new feature:
We have to pay to start using @Snapchat‘s features… FUCK THAT.
— Shay. (@xPleaseSingToMe) September 15, 2015
The whole point of the internet is to NOT PAY for anything. GL @Snapchat — Leilani Pips™ (@PipsToDollars) September 15, 2015
Snapchat did release some free things too that may appease the haters. There are now Lenses that add “masks” or filters:
I know what my night is going to consist of… @Snapchat pic.twitter.com/CXrj0gB86k
— chl0e (@chl0eperry) September 15, 2015
Finally, also tucked away are descriptions of the Friend Emojis that appear on the “Send To…” list that can now customized.
Thank You @Snapchat I understand what these emojis mean now. pic.twitter.com/MjpnCke9BD
— Tori G. (@tori_gonzalez05) September 15, 2015
What a thrilling day.
More in Media
Digiday+ Research: Publishers’ growing focus on video doesn’t translate to social platforms
Major publishers have made recent investments in vertical video, but that shift is not carrying over to social media platforms.
Technology x humanity: A conversation with Dayforce’s Amy Capellanti-Wolf
Capellanti-Wolf shared insight on everything from navigating AI adoption and combating burnout to rethinking talent strategies.
How The Arena Group is rewriting its commercial playbook for the zero-click era
The company is testing AI-powered content recommendation models to keep readers moving through its network of sites and, in doing so, bump up revenue per session – its core performance metric.