Snap has released several updates to its paid Snapchat+ app, including the "Story Expiration" feature, as well as personalized alert tones, camera borders, and more. It seems like the Story feature was made to entice power users to pay the $4/month for the service because it's so useful.
Subscribers can set the time their stories expire from one hour to seven days. That might let them get people interested with a shorter piece of work, or keep them around for longer in the hopes of attracting more readers. There is currently a 24-hour time limit on all stories, after which they will disappear permanently unless a copy is saved.
Premium Snap users can now personalize their alert tones so they always know who sent them a Snap even if they don't look at their device. And now, with the addition of a custom camera color borders option, users can do just that—use a variety of colors as a frame around their captured images. Finally, Snapchat is providing "exclusive, seasonal, and spooky Bitmoji backgrounds" for users to use in their profiles this Halloween.
The launch of Snapchat+ was successful, with the company claiming one million users shortly after the service went live. In spite of the fact that only a small percentage of Snap's 347 million daily users are "passionate," the service has proven to be a boon to the company's bottom line. Snapchat offers glasses and a drone called the Pixy Drone for purchase, despite rumors that Snap had abandoned the drone.
