Snapchat wants to make money from repeats
The fact that viewed photos disappear immediately is actually the highlight of the Snapchat photo service. Now the startup is reversing the principle: if you want to see three repetitions, you have to pay.
For $0.99, a user can re-watch three pictures or videos each, Snapchat announced late Tuesday. The offer is initially only available in the US. Previously, Snapchat had experimented with free "replays" - but they were limited to one replay per user per day. In addition, Snapchat introduced animations that can be inserted into selfies.
Snapchat allows users to send photos that delete themselves after viewing. The app is especially popular with young users, who also use it to send revealing pictures. However, the service has also struggled with security problems in the past.
Snapchat says it has around 100 million users a day and is working on a business model. The California-based company has so far experimented with video advertising and paid partnerships with companies, among other things.
However, according to internal figures recently published on the blog "Gawker", Snapchat only posted revenues of three million dollars from January to November last year - with a loss of 128 million. For this year, revenues of around 50 million dollars are targeted, according to the technology blog "Recode".
Co-founder and chief executive Evan Spiegel said in May that Snapchat had a plan to go public, but did not specify a time frame. Last year, Facebook wanted to buy Snapchat, reportedly for three billion dollars. However, the founders beat out the offer. (SDA)
