Snapchat Introduces Holiday Features, Updates for Snapchat+ Users

Snapchat has unveiled new features for the holiday season, offering festive updates aimed at enhancing the app experience for both Snapchat+ subscribers and regular users. The updates range from app customizations to holiday-themed tools and extended message retention options.

Snapchat+ users can now access holiday-themed app designs, allowing them to customize the interface with seasonal colors and styles. These new themes can be applied across the entire app, providing a Christmas-inspired look for passionate users. Additionally, Snapchat+ subscribers can now use new Bitmoji reactions in chats, offering fresh ways to interact with friends.

These features are part of Snapchat’s effort to grow its premium service, which already boasts 12 million paying subscribers. For non-paying users, Snapchat has introduced holiday-themed Lenses, including a unique AI-generated “Ugly Sweater” creator. While it’s a small addition, it’s something that will likely get a lot of use as users start to play around with how it works – no doubt turning it into an unintentional advertising tool for Snap if it ever goes viral.

Snapchat has also made changes to message retention. Users now have the option to save chats for up to seven days, a shift from the platform’s traditional 24-hour auto-delete feature. This opt-in functionality, requiring agreement from all participants in a chat, is particularly useful during the holidays when users may have limited connectivity or access to devices – or when users are using Snapchat to make important Christmas plans ahead of the big day itself.