Arguably, Snapchat has had one of the biggest comebacks in the social platform category in recent years, and now it's trying to capitalize on that with a premium option... but I hit a big catch after subscribing to Snapchat Plus. .
Before there was Instagram Stories, which allowed you to take a quick photo or video and only lasted for 24 hours, Snapchat paved the way. However, in 2016, the app got a redesign that was so hated that it caused a group of users to switch to Instagram.
However, it has made an impressive turnaround since then, attracting teens with unique filters and influencer partnerships, and is once again a top social platform.
But with Snapchat Plus (opens in a new tab), which gives you exclusive features for $3.99 / £3.99 / AU$4.89 per month on iPhone and Android, the so-called "Ghost Trail" made me uncomfortable after signing up and finally It led me to cancel my subscription.
A potentially dangerous feature for some people
Snap has tried to expand the app in recent years, with Spectacles letting you post snaps through wearable glasses, for example.
Snapchat Plus (Opens in a new tab) follows the Twitter Blue subscription model that offers exclusive features at a price. Once registered, you can use the following:
- Set a contact as a best friend
- Gives you an indicator of how many times someone has viewed your story
- Custom app icons/themes on iOS, coming soon to Android
- snapchat plus badge
- Friend Solar System: allows you to chat with your closest friends
- Ghost Trails on Snap Map
Each of these features is pretty fun: I changed the app icon to a pride variant, for example, while having a badge and "pinning" my wife as a BFF contact, that helps when we're sending each other snaps.
But soon after, a feature made me unsubscribe from the service.
For those who don't know, Snap Map allows you to open a map and view stories from anywhere in the world. If there's a heat map, that means there are a lot of stories to see. This can be useful for finding places you're about to visit on vacation, for example, or to see where your friends are if you're traveling with them.
However, Ghost Trails goes one step further with this, as it generates a yellow line through your friends, indicating where they have been for the last 24 hours.
It instantly made me feel uncomfortable. In fact, you can see where your friends or associates have been, subject to your settings, and it seems like a bad move overall.
Considering Apple offers features in iOS 16 to make it easier to restrict your information and location to others, that feels like a big step down from Snap.
Hopefully, the company will get rid of this feature and come back with something privacy-friendly, but for now, if you're a heavy Snapchat user, go to your profile and enable "ghost mode." This way, no one can see where you've been and where you currently are on the map.