Snapchat finally launches a web version - but only some people will get it

Snapchat for the web will only be available to Snapchat+ users in the United Kingdom

(Getty Images)

Snapchat has finally launched on the web.

Starting today, Snapchat+ subscribers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, and regular Snapchat users across Australia, and New Zealand will be able to send messages and take calls through Snapchat in the browser.

Snapchat recently launched Snapchat+ premium tier with many extra, but superficial, features. These include changing the style of the app’s icon, seeing who rewatched a story, and making one of your friends a “BFF” and pin them to the top of your chat history.

(Snapchat)

Snapchat for Web features Chat Reactions, Chat Reply, and will soon include Lenses for video calls.

“Like all of our products, our team designed Snapchat for Web with privacy and safety in mind. We’ll launch with a unique privacy screen that hides the Snapchat window if you click away for another task”, Snap said in its release.

Snapchat is not the only company rolling out new features for paid users in an attempt to boost revenue. Telegram also announced that it was working on a subscription model alongside its standard free version.

Instagram, a major competitor to Snapchat, is also doubling down on subscriber features including hidden posts that users will have to pay to see. The feature will also apply to reels, the TikTok-esque format that all videos on Instagram will be converted to if its recent test comes to fruition.

Snap shares dropped 30 per cent in May, leading to the company slowing its hiring process. “Today we filed an 8-K, sharing that the macro environment has deteriorated further and faster than we anticipated when we issued our quarterly guidance last month,” chief executive Evan Spiegel wrote in a note to employees.

“As a result, while our revenue continues to grow year-over-year, it is growing more slowly than we expected at this time.”