Snapchat introduces advertisements in the US

In a bid to increase its revenue, Snapchat has announced that it is introducing ads for users in the United States as of this weekend. According to a blog post by the social media app, an advertisement will be placed in the ‘Recent Updates’ section of the app, but will not use data to target users individually and will not appear in either Snaps or Chats.

“The best advertisements tell you more about stuff that actually interests you. Some companies spend a lot of time and collect a lot of data about you to figure that out. The product we’re releasing is a lot simpler.”

This is the first time that Snapchat has integrated paid content into the app, with users given the choice of watching the ad, which will disappear after being viewed or within 24 hours – similar to the way that individual Snapchats are currently used.