Snapchat Features Update: Expands In-App Geofilter-Making Tool To Europe
Snapchat users in Europe can now create their own geofilters from their phones instead of designing using the app's web-based tool. The update will be available for users in the U.K., the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Geofilters are a location-based tool that by adding overlay text and images to a Snap, allows Snapchat users to share where they are. The feature has been available to U.S. users since June.
The new on-demand feature can be accessed by clicking the user's profile going into Settings. The app then offers a selection of templates which they can customize. Once implemented, it can cover any location between 1,800 square meters to 450,000 square meters.
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Each filter will cost users however, with pricing for UK users starting at £5.99 and €6.99 for France and Sweden. The price can also change based on the user's location, duration, and demand of the geofilter.
Sponsored geofilters made up a substantial amount of Snapchat's ad revenue accounting for eight percent in 2016. The move towards personalization appears to be an effort to monetizing the feature for smaller companies around the world. Before going public, the company revealed that it has a small sales team whose goal is to convert small to medium sized businesses into using custom geofilter to promote their business.
The app faced intense pressure from Facebook last year who used its line-up of apps and services, which includes WhatsApp and Instagram, to muscle in on the instant messaging market. The social media company introduced similar features to its own apps with the goal of enticing users to change services. However, the app fought back introducing its own series of updates as well as hardware product in the form of a video enabled glasses known as Spectacles which was launched by its parent company Snap Inc.
Snapchat still remains a major contender in the industry with 173 million daily active users. The company has also revealed that over one billion snaps with geofilters are viewed worldwide every day.
