Snapchat, the popular messaging and photo-sharing app launched its premium model, Snapchat+ in India on Wednesday. With the premium version, users can now get access to exclusive new features. Users can also show off their subscription by enabling a special ‘star’ badge. Users can buy this model from their Snapchat apps.
The Snapchat+ subscription is available to Indian users at only Rs. 49 per month (62 cents) which is quite cheaper compared to other countries. It is available in the U.S. for $3.99 (around Rs. 320). The paid model has come to India after the company launched it in several other countries.
This version comes with a lot of features like the Rewatch Indicator, which allows users to see how many people have rewatched their story, users can also pin a best friend at the top of the list with the Best Friends Forever Feature. iOS and Android users will get the ability to change the Snapchat app icon. With this, if a friend has agreed to share their location with a user then, he/she can see the direction where their friend has moved.
“India is an important market for Snap, and investments in localizing the app experience has been key to our growth in the region.”
– Lakshya Malu, Interim Market Development Lead of Snapchat
According to Snapchat, several more features will be rolled out in the coming weeks. According to Statista, India is the largest market for Snapchat with more than 14 crore users in the country. This could be one of the reasons why the company is offering its premium subscription at a reasonable rate.
The Interim Market Development Lead of Snapchat, Lakshya Malu also said in a statement, “India is an important market for Snap, and investments in localizing the app experience has been key to our growth in the region.”
By launching the subscription model, the company has been able to increase its revenue. After reporting a disappointing Q2 report, and also announcing its plans to slow down hiring, it seems that it is important for the company to succeed in the company.
Twitter had also previously launched a premium model for its users Twitter Blue. It also looks like Instagram is working on a paid subscription model called ‘Instagram Profile Plus‘. The details are still unclear but looking at the name, we can guess that it could be on the similar lines of Twitter Blue and Snapchat Plus.
