In an effort to be at par with today’s top social media platforms, Snapchat released Snapchat Plus. What is it, and how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus?
With TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook getting center stage, Snapchat hasn’t received much media coverage over the past few years. According to statistics, Snapchat has only 500 million monthly active users, while TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have 1 billion, 1.4 billion, and 2.9 billion, respectively.
To catch up on the figures and survive in the highly competitive social media space, Snapchat decided to roll out a bunch of exclusive features in the form of Snapchat Plus.
What is Snapchat Plus, and how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus?
What is Snapchat Plus?
Snapchat is a social media platform for exchanging snaps (Snapchat photos and videos) that disappear after viewing. The social media platform was then advertised as a novel type of camera because it adds filters and effects to photos and videos and sends them to other users.
Snapchat Plus, on the other hand, is a premium and paid version of the social messaging platform. Snapchat is rolling out this version in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. While the release is gradual, the platform promises to release Snapchat Plus in more countries.
Within six weeks after its release, Snapchat Plus exceeded over a million users. As an early gift for its avid fans, Snapchat loaded up its subscription package with more features, including a priority Story Reply and increased visibility to responses in Snap Stars.
With its exclusive features, especially the extended Story duration, Snapchat Plus can be a great tool for influencers on the platform. If you want to work with an influencer on Snapchat, you may ask the assistance of an influencer marketing agency. Learn more about it in our Open Influence review.
How to know if someone has Snapchat Plus?
Now that you understand what Snapchat Plus is, we shall discover how to know if someone else has Snapchat Plus.
While the app won’t outright tell you if someone is using Snapchat Plus, there are some obvious signs and symbols you can look out for. So, how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus?
Look out for the Snapchat Plus badge
A Snapchat Plus user has a white star inside a black circle next to their username. This badge is exclusive to Snapchat Plus users only. However, Plus users may turn off this star badge in the settings. So, not having the badge doesn’t necessarily mean they are not Snapchat Plus users.
Notice the duration of their Snapchat Stories
Regular Snapchat stories last for 24 hours only, but Snapchat Plus stories can last up to a week. So, if you want to show your stories to all your followers for over a day, you might consider subscribing to Snapchat Plus.
If someone’s Snapchat Story is available for over 24 hours, that user is a Snapchat Plus subscriber.
Check for customized Chat wallpapers
Snapchat Plus subscribers are allowed to customize their Chat backgrounds. So, if you find the chat’s wallpaper is unique, the person you are conversing with is most likely a Snapchat Plus subscriber.
Remember that these are signs on how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus, but you will never know for sure, especially when a subscriber chooses not to use all the Plus features. So, the best way to know if someone has Snapchat Plus is by asking them.
What are the additional features of Snapchat Plus?
Snapchat’s additional features are more evolutionary than revolutionary, as they are just improvements of the regular features. Snapchat targeted the new features for its avid users.
As technology is constantly evolving, these features are subject to future changes, and Snapchat subscribers have frontline access to these developments compared to the average user.
So, what can you see if you have Snapchat Plus? Here are some of Snapchat Plus’s exclusive features that you can look out to answer the question, ‘How to know if someone has Snapchat Plus?’:
Best Friends Forever
With the Best Friends Forever feature, you can pin another user as your #1 Best Friend on Snapchat. If you have many best friends, you must schedule them for pinning, as the platform only allows one best friend at a time. Luckily, this wouldn’t upset your other friends because only you can see your #1 Best Friend.
While this is a great feature, it’s not something you can use how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus because the #1 Best Friend pin is only visible to the account owner.
How do you pin someone as your #1 Best Friend? Choose a friend from your Send To or Chat screen. Then, press and hold on to that friend’s name and click ‘Pin as your #1 Best Friend.’
Story Rewatch Indicator
Snapchat Plus subscribers have access to the Story Rewatch indicator. What is the Snapchat Plus story rewatch indicator?
If you are a subscriber, you will see a”two-eyed” emoji under Stories that your Snapchat friends rewatched. The number beside the emoji indicates how many friends rewatched your Stories, not the number of times your Stories have been rewatched. The feature also doesn’t show who rewatched your Snapchat Story.
Furthermore, you will know how many friends rewatched your Snaps on your My Story, Private Stories, and Shared Stories tabs. Tap on the ‘Story’ and swipe up to see if anyone rewatched it.
You can turn on or off this feature by visiting your Snapchat profile, tapping the Snapchat+ membership card, and toggling Story Rewatch Count on or off.
Custom Story Expiration
Since time immemorial, Snapchat’s story duration is a maximum of 24 hours. This expiration length is the same for other platforms, such as Facebook My Day and Instagram Stories.
However, as mentioned, Snapchat Plus subscribers can customize their Story timers. They can set a timer starting from an hour to as long as one week. So, if you want more engagement and awareness, you can keep your story up for one week.
This feature is a beneficial innovation for influencers and brands who want to expose their content a little longer. Showing their Stories for a week gives their friends and viewers more time to engage with them. You can check out this HireInfluence review if you want to work with an influencer in your niche.
Custom App Icons and Themes
While this feature isn’t really innovative, it can make you feel special because it allows you to stand out. The average Snapchat user can only use the standard white ghost in yellow background application icon, while Snapchat Plus subscribers can choose from more than 30 custom icons.
To customize your icon, open your Snapchat profile, click on your Snapchat Plus membership card, choose the ‘App Icon’ tab, and pick out any icon from the selection.
So, how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus? One way of checking is by looking at their app icons.
Friends Solar System
Snapchat Plus’s Friends Solar System is like Instagram Stories’ close friends. With this feature, you can see a ‘Friends’ or ‘Best Friends’ badge surrounded by a gold ring on another user’s Friendship profile.
The ‘Best Friends’ badge indicates you are one of each other’s eight closest friends, while the ‘Friends’ badge indicates you are one of another user’s eight closest friends, but they’re not yours. You and your friend must have a linked Bitmoji to view this feature.
Now, how to see where you are on someones best friends list with Snapchat Plus? Each planet represents a different Best Friends list position. To know your position on your friend’s Solar System, tap on the badge, and a panel will appear showing you which planet you are.
So, if the sun represents your friend and you are the Earth in their solar system, your friend considers you their third-closest friend.
How to know if someone has Snapchat Plus? They have a friend’s Solar System.
Snapchat Web
Many people predict that the Snapchat Web will eventually be available for everybody. But for now, Snapchat for Web is accessible to Snapchat Plus subscribers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
The Snapchat Web allows you to use your browser to answer calls or pick up where conversations left off on your Snapchat mobile app. The Web app includes Chat Reactions and Chat Reply.
Ghost Trails on The Map
One of Snapchat Plus’s most innovative yet concerning features is Ghost Trails. This feature lets you see where your friends who share their location with you have been in the past 24 hours. You only have access to Ghost Trails on the Map for friends who have access to Snapchat+ in the country and have made their locations visible to you.
To track a friend’s Ghost Trail, click their Bitmoji on the Map. Toggle your Ghost Mode on and off in your Snap Map settings to clear your Trail.
Many argue that Ghost Trails is a disincentive for users to subscribe to Snapchat Plus because it allows other users to spy on you. While this argument is valid, users can opt not to share their location.
Who are Snapchat Plus users?
Snapchat Plus users are mostly avid regular Snapchat users looking to maximize the platform through its exclusive features. These users reside in the following countries:
- Austria
- Finland
- Belgium
- Ireland
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Israel
- Egypt
- Bahrain
- Oman
- Qatar
- Kuwait
- India
- UAE
- Saudi Arabia
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Germany
- France
- Canada
- The United Kingdom
- The United States
How do you subscribe to Snapchat Plus?
First, you must reside in the territories where Snapchat Plus is available. If you are not in one of the countries listed above, you must wait for the platform to expand its service to your country.
Then, follow these steps to sign up:
Step 1
Open your Snapchat app and tap your profile icon to access your page. Tap the gold-tinted banner advertising Snapchat Plus just below your name. The premium is unavailable if you can’t find this banner on your profile.
Step 2
Choose your subscription term—one month, six months, or one year. The platform will offer you a 7-day free trial before starting your subscription.
Step 3
Pay for your subscription. The payment methods will vary depending on your device. You can sign up via a linked debit or credit card, your Apple ID, or your Google account.
After completing the subscription process, a pop-up will appear, explaining the main features of Snapchat Plus. It will show you which features you can turn on and off.
What most users love the most about Snapchat Plus is its flexibility. The platform doesn’t require subscribers to use and have everything, such as in an ‘all or nothing’ approach. You can select any features you want to use and turn off those you don’t want to use. Presumably, you can do the same for any future add-ons or updates.
If you don’t want to continue your subscription, you can cancel anytime by tapping the gear icon on your top-right screen and clicking Snapchat+. Then, access your “Manage your Subscription” tab to open the page where you can cancel. When cancelling your subscription, you must use the same device you used to sign up.
Boost influence with Snapchat Plus
The best and easiest way how to know if someone has Snapchat Plus is by checking their Snapchat+ badge and the duration of their Snapchat Stories. If all else fails, you can outright ask them, and they will happily answer.
Know more about Snapchat Plus and whether or not you should upgrade by reading this “Snapchat Plus: Should You Bother With The Upgrade?” article.
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