Snap Inc. has announced the introduction of Topic Chats, a new feature designed to facilitate public conversations on Snapchat. Traditionally, Snapchat has focused on private messaging, but the company observed increased engagement in public comments around trending topics and events.
“Watching our community engage with one another in public comments inspired us to invent a new way to have these conversations. Meet Topic Chats — a new type of Chat built for the moments everyone’s talking about,” the company stated.
In the coming weeks, users in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States will begin seeing Topic Chats integrated throughout Snapchat. The feature will appear in various locations such as Chat shortcuts, search results, the Stories page, and on Spotlight videos. Users can join discussions by tapping a yellow “Join the Chat” button that appears on relevant Stories or Spotlight content.
According to Snap Inc., Topic Chats aim to bring popular chat features into public forums centered around current events and shared interests. The feature also groups related Snaps together for easier visual exploration of each topic.
The company noted that users will be able to see when their friends are participating in specific Topic Chats, making it easier to find common interests. Additionally, chats that users join will be prioritized at the top of their Topic Chat page.
“We’re really excited to see what the Snapchat community has to say about everything from F1, to Below Deck,” Snap Inc. said.
