Snapchat Through The Years: How The Social Media App Became What It Is Today

Snapchat has introduced new Memories Storage Plans to deal with the growing number of photos and videos people save on the app. Since the launch of Memories in 2016, users have saved more than 1 trillion snaps, according to Team Snapchat. The feature was designed as a way to keep selected snaps instead of filling up a phone’s camera roll.

Before now, every account had a 5GB limit. Team Snapchat announced that most people will not be affected as they use less than that amount. For those who go over the 5GB mark, new paid storage plans are being introduced.

The new plans are 100GB, 250GB for Snapchat+ subscribers and 5TB through Snapchat Platinum. Users will have 12 months of temporary storage to decide if they want to pay for more space. Snapchat also made clear that people will always be able to download their snaps to their devices if they do not wish to upgrade.

Why Does Snapchat Want To Charge For Storage?

Team Snapchat explained that moving from free storage to paid storage is not an easy decision. The company said it wants to continue investing in Memories, which means finding new ways to fund the service.

This is not the first time Snapchat has added subscription features. In 2022, the company launched Snapchat Plus, a paid service giving people early access to tools and experimental features. Snapchat Platinum is now the next way to go with much higher storage for people who save thousands of snaps.

The company is careful to reassure people that the change does not affect those with fewer saved snaps. Team Snapchat described the update as a way to keep the Memories feature sustainable in the long term while letting power users choose if they want more storage.

How Did Snapchat Begin?

Snapchat started in April 2011 when Reggie Brown came up with the idea of an app that sent disappearing photos. Brown worked with Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, who developed the first version. It launched in July 2011 under the name Picaboo from Spiegel’s father’s living room.

The app was renamed Snapchat in October 2012. At that stage, it allowed both photos and videos that would vanish after being seen. This new style of messaging proved popular with students. When the end of that year came, Snapchat reported users were sending 20 million images a day.

Snapchat’s early rise was attractive for investors. In 2012, Lightspeed Ventures invested $485,000 after hearing about the app’s popularity among teenagers. Just a year after this, the user base had grown to more than 150 million daily snaps.

What New Features Made Snapchat Iconic?

In 2013, Snapchat introduced Stories, which let people post snaps to their profiles for 24 hours. This became one of its most defining features. That same year, Facebook reportedly offered $3 billion to buy Snapchat, but Spiegel declined.

The app kept adding new tools. In 2013, AR filters called Lenses were released and quickly gained attention. Then in 2015, Discover launched, giving media companies a place to share short videos and articles.

Snapchat also tried to grow into entertainment. In 2019, it added Snap Games so friends could play together within the app. In 2020, Snapchat Spotlight was created, a video-sharing feed where users could earn money, drawing comparisons to TikTok.

How Did Snapchat Grow As A Business?

Snap Inc. was formed in 2016 as the business prepared for an initial public offering. It raised quite a bit from investors, this includes $485 million in Series D funding in 2014 and $1.8 billion in Series F funding in 2016.

The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2017 under the ticker SNAP. Its market debut was closely watched, as daily video views had risen to 10 billion in 2016, though Snapchat’s definition of a “view” differed from rivals.

Over the years, Snapchat has been trough a lot when it comes to controversies…

A 2018 redesign of the app was a whole thing where lots of negative feedback was going around from its users, who complained that the new layout was confusing. Earlier, in 2014, the company had settled a case with the Federal Trade Commission, which accused it of exaggerating how much snaps could truly disappear.

Even with these issues, Snapchat has continued to develop. From Snap Map in 2017 to enhanced AR shopping tools in 2023, the app has kept trying out new features. The Memories Storage Plans are the latest attempt to match what long time users need while also generating income.