Like with the app, the web version of Snapchat opens directly to the camera to encourage users to send photos to friends. In a sidebar, users will see a list of their recent friend conversations, where they can open snaps or start a chat. The web version won’t include all the features of the mobile app, such as the “Snap Map” where users can track their friends or the discover section — at least to start, according to the company.
“With so many in our community spending more time online, whether it is for remote learning or working, streaming or just plain browsing — we saw a huge opportunity to make it easier for our community to stay connected throughout their day,” a spokesperson for Snap, the app’s parent company, said in a statement.
To protect users’ safety and privacy, Snapchat for web prohibits users from taking screenshots of chats or snaps (the app alerts users if someone screenshots their chat or photo). The company also created a “privacy screen” to hide the Snapchat window if users click away.
The launch comes as Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has been pummeled on Wall Street after posting a larger than expected loss in its most recent earnings report and later
warning investors that it had slashed its upcoming quarterly forecast due to a worsening economy.
Shares of Snap, which is set to report second quarter earnings later this week, have tumbled 70% since the start of this year.
Last month, Snap
introduced a new paid subscription service called Snapchat+ with the potential to boost its revenue.
The web version may be a draw for the new, $3.99 per month
subscription option. At launch, the web-based version of Snapchat will be available to all users in Australia and New Zealand and to Snapchat+ users in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. The service will soon roll out to
Snapchat+ subscribers in France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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