If we were to update the hierarchy of needs, we would be including social media on the pyramid. Users always search for novel and creative updates on their favorite social media platforms. Hence, Snapchat introduced Snapchat Plus. But what is Snapchat Plus, and what are its added features?
Since its release in 2011, Snapchat has been a popular messaging app, primarily because users exchange messages through images or videos called Snaps. Eleven years later, Snapchat released its very own paid subscription — Snapchat Plus.
We desire to know and share what is Snapchat Plus and the features that come with it. So, we did our homework and came up with everything you need to know about Snapchat Plus.
What is Snapchat?
Do you know that white ghost on a bright yellow background? Yep, Snapchat! Before we go over what is Snapchat Plus, let us refresh ourselves with what Snapchat is.
Snapchat is a popular social media messaging app that allows users to exchange messages, images, and videos. These Snaps disappear after a user views them. Snapchat enables us to apply filters, lenses, and other cool effects on Snaps.
Snapchat is a straightforward and user-friendly platform. To create an account, we must sign up and fill in the necessary details — name, email address, and date of birth. Then, we can choose our own Snapchat handles. Most users tend to navigate towards quirky and witty Snapchat usernames.
To start a conversation or send a Snap, we must click the camera icon and take a Snap. We can choose from various filters, with the puppy and flower crown being the OG. After customizing the Snap, we can send it to any of our friends or add it to our Story tab.
The platform also offers a group Stories and texting option where all group members can contribute or add their Snaps.
What Is Snapchat Plus?
Now, what is Snapchat Plus? What does Snapchat Plus give you? Is it any different from the native Snapchat app?
Snapchat Plus, formally written as Snapchat+, is the social media platform’s premium subscription, giving users access to pre-release, experimental, and exclusive features. The Snapchat Plus features allow us to enhance, upgrade, and customize our experience on the platform.
While the premium version makes loyal Snapchat patrons giddy, we must note that a Snapchat Plus subscription does not get rid of ads. This is such a letdown as most premium subscriptions get rid of ads; take YouTube Premium and Spotify Premium, for example.
How Does Snapchat Plus Work?
Snapchat Plus works like the non-premium Snapchat. To use Snapchat Plus, we need to create an account on the non-premium version and upgrade from there.
All we have to do is access the app, click on the profile icon on our screen’s top left portion, tap the Snapchat Plus banner, and tap our subscription premium of choice. Snapchat gives us two subscription options — monthly and yearly.
Snapchat Plus subscription costs $3.99 a month. It’s not much, but are the features worth the price? We’ll see as we tackle the “What is Snapchat Plus best feature?” portion.
What Is Snapchat Plus Features?
What is on Snapchat Plus? We already know how much the subscription costs. So, we shall now discuss the app’s exclusive features to identify whether or not we get our money’s worth.
At the core, Snapchat Plus targets the platform’s very loyal users — those who spend their time communicating with others via Snaps. These subscribers have front-row access to Snapchat’s exclusive features and upgrades.
What is Snapch Plus best feature? They are as follows:
Pin A BFF
Snapchat Plus has a unique way of making our best friends more accessible on the platform. As the feature’s name suggests, we can pick one Snapchat user to pin as our BFF, putting our conversation with the user on top of our chats.
Our pinned BFF won’t receive any notifications indicating their position on our profile. Only we can see this pin.
Priority Story Replies
Subscribing to Snapchat Plus makes our replies more visible to other users. Our replies to our Snap friends’ Stories will be prioritized, making us more noticeable to them than other users. Hence, our Snap friends will never forget our presence and have one less reason not to converse with us.
Custom Camera Button
The Snapchat camera and filters are what brought popularity to the platform. Upon subscribing to Snapchat Plus, we will have access to a custom camera button. Here, we can customize the button based on our preference.
Instead of tapping the monotonous yellow button (sorry, Snapchat), we can transform our Snapchat capture buttons into a heart, butterfly, fidget spinner, soccer ball, snowflake, diamond, and so much more.
Chat Wallpapers
Dating back to the dear old Friendster, we always loved to customize the layout and colors of our social media platforms and messaging apps.
Luckily, Snapchat Plus allows us to enjoy unlimited customization. What is Snapchat Plus’s most looked-forward customization feature? Custom chat wallpapers. This feature enables us to set the stage for our chats. What we love most about this feature is we can choose from Snapchat’s pre-made options or a photo from our camera roll.
Custom Story Expiration
Stories from other social media platforms expire within 24 hours, but not on Snapchat Plus. Sometimes, we post Stories for as many people to see, and 24 hours wouldn’t suffice for some Stories.
Snapchat saw this and offered the custom story expiration feature. Here, we can set how long we want our Snapchat Stories to be up, whether for hours or days. This feature makes Snapchat a tad advanced compared to other social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, where Stories are only up for 24 hours.
The Custom Story expiration feature is especially beneficial for influencers and celebrities on the platform, enabling them to engage with their audience more. If you are an influencer looking to expand your social media presence by entering Snapchat, you may seek help from an influencer marketing agency.
We have our favorite agencies, The Shelf being one. We have explained more about this agency in our The Shelf review.
Custom Notification Sounds
If you are a highly sociable person, your messages may constantly be beeping. Snapchat Plus takes one burden off our backs by offering a custom notification sound or ringtone. We can set different sounds for different friends or users, allowing us to identify where a message comes from without looking at our phones.
Ghost Trails/Live Location
What is Snapchat Plus’s best feature? Ghost Trails is one of the platform’s most popular features.
Of course, Snapchat isn’t Snapchat without the ghost. The Ghost Trails Snapchat Plus feature allows us to locate our friends and where they have been in the past 24 hours. However, we can only see trails from friends sharing their locations with us or friends with Snapchat Plus access in their country.
Ghost Trails stirred a slight issue concerning privacy, as many users think this feature is borderline stalking others. As a result, the platform removed the feature this year and replaced it with Live Location.
Custom App Icons
Without the ghost on a yellow background, is it even Snapchat? On Snapchat Premium, it is. Subscribing to Snapchat Plus gives us access to over 30 custom app icons with standout designs. So, this feature is perfect if we want to level up and be creative with our Snapchat apps.
Custom Bitmoji Background
While Bitmoji isn’t a native feature of the platform, many Snapchat users use Bitmoji. Bitmoji is an app that allows users to create personal emojis and stickers. We can integrate our Bitmojis on Snapchat, with Snapchat Plus enabling us to create custom backgrounds for our Bitmojis.
Friends Solar Systems
What is Snacphat Plus best feature? One of the most highlighted features of the app’s premium version is the Friends Solar Systems. When we subscribe to Snapchat Plus, we can find a ‘Best Friends’ badge with a gold ring encircling our or another user’s Friendship profile.
By tapping the badge, we can see which planet we are on in our friends’ solar systems, with each planet representing a different position. The Sun represents the profile owner, and the order of friendship is similar to the order of planets closest to the Sun. So, if I am the Sun, and my friend is the Earth, they are my third-closest friend.
Story Rewatch Count
Snapchat Plus allows us to check the number of times other users view our Stories. The app’s premium subscription gives us access to the Story Rewatch Indicator, represented by a two-eyed emoji on the Stories that our friends rewatch. The number next to the emoji indicates the number of times others watch our Stories and not the number of times the Stories are rewatched.
If we find the feature bothersome, we may turn off the indicator by visiting our profile, clicking the Snapchat Plus membership card, and toggling the Story Rewatch Count button.
Peek A Peek
Can someone see when you peek on Snapchat? Snapchat Plus allows us to see anyone peek at our shared personal or group chats. We will know when someone peeks on the chat because a two-eyed symbol will appear next to the conversation. The catch is that we can only see the emoji if we look at the Chat feed at the moment they are peeking.
What Is Snapchat Plus Used For?
Aside from knowing what is Snapchat Plus, we need to know what is Snapchat ++ used for. At the core, we use Snapchat Plus the way we do the native version — for messaging other users. The only difference Snapchat Plus has is the added extra features.
Influencers and content creators may use Snapchat Plus to engage with fans and followers. These influencers may use a social media management tool to ensure they can manage all their channels efficiently, including Snapchat. One of our top-notch social media management software can be found in this Planoly review.
Can You Tell If Someone Has Snapchat Plus?
What is Snapchat Plus, and can we tell if someone has this premium subscription?
Yes! We can identify Snapchat Plus subscribers by checking their Snapchat Plus badge, represented by a white star within a black circle next to their username. But the absence of a badge doesn’t necessarily tell us that a user is not on Snapchat Plus because we can turn off the badge on our settings.
Aside from looking for the badge, we can also tell if someone has Snapchat Plus if their stories are up for over 24 hours.
Is Snapchat Plus Worth Subscribing?
Now that we know what is Snapchat Plus and its features, the most vital question is, “Is Snapchat Plus worth our money?”
There’s no black-and-white answer to this question because we can only speak for ourselves. If we are loyal Snapchat users and want to get ahead on any updates and exclusive features, and we find the features useful and enjoyable, subscribing to the platform is worth it.
However, if we don’t spend more time on the platform and can manage with the basic features, then we shouldn’t splurge extra on unnecessary subscriptions.
We have learned so much about what is Snapchat Plus and can further our knowledge of the platform by reading this “How To Know If Someone Has Snapchat Plus: A Comprehensive Guide 2023” article.
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