Snapchat’s 166 million daily users can now make their own custom geofilters without having to put down the popular messaging app.
Snapchat first introduced custom geofilters—personalized location tags that users can slap on top of their image and video posts—in February 2016, but users previously had to go to the service’s online design studio. Starting on Wednesday, Snapchat says it is allowing users to create their own on-demand geofilters directly in the app, which now features a mobile creative studio that is accessible within the app’s settings.
Custom geofilters are typically used either by business to promote a brand or event, or by personal accounts when users are celebrating birthday parties and weddings, for example. “Each day, Snapchatters submit tens of thousands of Geofilter designs for their engagements and weddings, parties, vacations, graduations, and so much more,” Snapchat parent Snap Inc. Said in a blog post on Wednesday.
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Users can customize geofilters in the app’s studio by adding personal touches—like a tagline for your wedding—along with Bitmojis and Stickers from the Snapchat graphic library. Snapchat users can also pay for their custom creations directly through the app, with prices for each new custom geofilter starting at $5.99. (The cost can increase depending on how long the geofilter lasts and how large of a geographical area it is intended to cover.) Snap also provides analytical tools that show how many people used the geofilter and the campaign’s total number of views.
Snapchat first launched geofilters in 2014, at which point users could only choose from a predetermined list of location tags. But as a way of monetizing the feature, the company decided to allow customization. In November, Snapchat partnered with Foursquare to improve its geofilters’ location targeting while getting access to nearly 90 million mapped locations. Snapchat also expanded its design template offerings for businesses looking to buy geofilter sponsorships, which allow companies to create custom branded geofilters.
