You probably are well aware of what Snapchat is and how it works. There is a high probability that your snap streaks and snap scores are pretty wild. Well, considering that, there is a new service provided by the company.
The paid subscription service provided by Snapchat is an attempt to cater to its growing audience and increase its revenue as a business.
What Is Snapchat Plus?
Snapchat Plus is a subscription-based premium feature on Snapchat that hosts many unique perks, making the messaging apps’ experience more interesting than usual.
Or that is what the company promises. The features range from finding out how many friends rewatch your stories to getting access to exclusive snap badges.
Snapchat plus can also be termed as an addition to a product that might reel in free users with the idea of exclusivity and standing out amongst their friends and other users. Snapchat had the idea of introducing perks for the premium users which would attract the free users to pay more for the service.
There also has been a good amount of backslash on these premium perks, some of them are not that popular among users for reasons which are quite obvious and we will observe that in the following article.
First, let’s look at the premium features that Snapchat plus is offering to its users.
Premium Features of Snapchat Plus
- Ghost Trails
Snapchat Plus has included the feature it calls “Ghost Trails”. The feature lets you see your friends’ location for the past 24 hours, considering that they have not hidden their location from you.
A unique feature for any app currently providing location-based services to customers.
- Story Rewatch Count
Snapchat plus will let you see how many times your friends have rewatched your stories. The feature is exclusive to Snapchat Plus, making the features very dependent on user-to-user interaction.
- Pin friend as #1 BFF
Similar to how pinning a chat works in other social media apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat has its way of describing it.
You can pin your friend as the #1 BFF on the top of your chat and access their chat as quickly as possible.
- Displaying a Badge on your profile
If you are a Snapchat plus user you will have a badge next to your profile. It is a star-shaped icon, displayed right beside your Snapchat username. Indicating that you are a Snapchat premium user.
- Having Exclusive Snapchat Icons for use
You have exclusive access to different Snapchat icons which are not available on the free platform. There are over 30+ icons available for users with more to look for in the future.
- Priority Story Reply
If you are a Snapchat plus user and are replying to the story of a friend, your replies will be prioritized by your friend and appear at the top of their list. Your name will appear with a star-marked icon just beside it.
- New Bitmoji Background
Snapchat had its bitmoji feature which helped users create an avatar for themselves. Now just as an add-on, those bitmojis have new cool backgrounds to them if you are a Snapchat plus user.
- Snapchat Web
Social media applications like WhatsApp have long used the web-based version to construct a fluid experience for the users. Snapchat has introduced Snapchat web on Snapchat Plus.
This will help you to send messages, snaps, etc directly via your PC or Laptops’ browser. You can also install Snapchat Web on your PC/Laptop to use the same. The experience is simple and fluid but you cannot open or reply to snaps on Snapchat Web.
- Post View Emoji
As a subscriber of Snapchat plus, You can set an emoji next to their name which will be viewed by your friends whenever they see a snap that you have sent them. It can also be considered a unique sign for you being a user of Snapchat Plus.
- The Friend Solar System Badge
As a subscriber of the service, you will see a ‘Best friend’ badge or a ‘Friends’ badge with a gold ring around it in some of the profiles in your friend list.
The ‘Best Friend’ badge signifies that you are one of each other’s eight closest friends. And the ‘Friends’ badge signifies that they are one of your eight closest friends but you are not.
Problems with Snapchat Plus
Some of the features might be attractive to regular users of Snapchat, but there are problems that are difficult to be considered as a “Feature”
Privacy issues with Ghost Trail
The Ghost Trail feature provided on Snapchat is difficult to be considered as something you would like to pay for. Your friend having access to your location history for the past 24 hours is not something you would be comfortable knowing.
In this day and age of social media, privacy is important and this does not exactly scream privacy. People share their Snapchat easily without actually being friends.
This feature is not safe in that scenario.
Ego-lifting features
The priority story replies, displaying a badge on your profile, or the solar system badge are not features that promote healthy use of social media.
It shows what the company is promoting to its users and makes them think is cool. These features do not affect how a person will communicate with each other, hence it is not worth paying money for.
Useless features
The Post View Emoji and the new Bitmoji background are features that make you think hard about why you are paying 3.99 USD per month to the company. These prices are costly and make you wonder about the necessity of this subscription-based feature.
How to Subscribe to Snapchat Plus?
After everything you could understand about the features and problems of Snapchat Plus from the above list, it’s time to know how you can subscribe to the service.
Subscription services on media applications are a common occurrence nowadays, so there is a high probability that you might be able to figure it out on your own.
But if you can’t, let us explain how to do it below. Assuming that you already have the Snapchat application on your phone, these are the steps on how to subscribe to the plan.
Step 1. Open your Snapchat application and tap on your profile icon on the top left of your screen.
Step 2. You will find the Snapchat + banner under your profile avatar, There is a chance that you might not find a banner under your avatar.
In that case, go to settings and find the Snapchat + option under email. You might have a lot of banners on your profile, the reason being the absence of the Snapchat+ banner.
Step 3. Choose among the provided plans and the subscription tenure for the service.
Step 4. Tap on the “Start 7-day free trial” button to start your experience.
Step 5. Sit back and Enjoy the experience
Pricing of Snapchat Plus
The services of Snapchat plus are provided at different prices according to different subscription tenures. The prices are 3.99 USD per month, 21.99 USD for 6 months, and 39.99 USD for a Year of subscription.
These subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial for the user to experience what they are getting into. You as a user can take your time and decide if the money you are paying is worth your time or not.
Endnote
The above article covered all the aspects of how the service works and what it provides. As an end user, you are a better judge of how paying 3.99 USD a month is adding any value to your life or your social media experience.
Think hard before justifying the cost to yourself or your provider. If it improves your experience of using Snapchat, go ahead and try the service at your convenience.