Snap Inc. has announced the introduction of Topic Chats, a new feature on Snapchat designed to facilitate public conversations around trending topics and events. Traditionally, Snapchat has focused on private messaging between users, but recent trends have shown increased engagement in public comments, especially around content shared via Spotlight.
According to Snap Inc., Topic Chats will soon be available to users in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. The feature will appear across various parts of the app, including Chat shortcuts, search results, the Stories page, and Spotlight videos. Users can join these chats by tapping a yellow “Join the Chat” button that appears on relevant Stories or Spotlight content.
The company explained that Topic Chats aim to bring popular chat features into a more public setting while grouping Snaps related to specific topics for easier visual exploration. Additionally, users will be able to see which friends are participating in particular Topic Chats and quickly access chats they have joined from their Topic Chat page.
A spokesperson for Snap Inc. stated: “This is new for Snapchat, because we’ve primarily focused on supporting private conversations rather than public ones. 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.”
Snap Inc. added: “We’re really excited to see what the Snapchat community has to say about everything from F1, to Below Deck.”
The rollout of Topic Chats reflects Snap Inc.’s efforts to adapt its platform based on evolving user behavior and preferences.
