The messaging app rolled out a major update to its iOS and Android app on Tuesday, which adds in-app purchasing for extra replays and a new feature that lets you layer special effects on top of your selfies. Users will still have the one free replay daily, but now they can replay as many snaps as they like as long as they’re willing to pay.
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“You can use a Replay on any Snap you receive, but you can only Replay any Snap once”. You can purchase 3 Replays for $0.99. To use Lenses, just tap and hold on your selfie before taking a Snap. By pressing and holding on the camera button, Snapchat users have access to new image filters called “Lenses”.
The vanishing-message service did not disclose who bought stakes in the Los Angeles-based company, which came at a price estimated to give Snapchat a value of more than $15 billion, according to media reports. This is also the first time that Snapchat has offered an in-app purchase.
Snapchat says the Lenses will be updated regularly, with a new one being rotated in each day. That feature, previously available to some users, now rewards users with emoji badges – including a beer mug, a flash light, a piece of bread and an egg plant – for certain activities. “So why stop at just one?” And any Candy Crush player knows how addicting good app add-ons can be (“Pay $.99 for a new life!”). The feature was apparently a popular one. Snapchat’s core money-making products – Discover and Snapchat Live Stories – both rely on content that exists for 24 hours.
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Users can get a second look at any message, but can do this only once per snap. “They’re a little pricey – but time is money!”
