3 min read
Snapchat is stepping outside its comfort zone. After years of defining itself as the app for private, fleeting conversations, the company is introducing Topic Chats, a new feature designed to bring people together in public discussions about trending topics, major events and shared interests. It marks one of the clearest signals yet that Snapchat wants to grow beyond being a messaging app and become a place where communities form around what is happening in the world.
At its core, Topic Chats act like public chat rooms linked to popular subjects. Users will start seeing Join the Chat invitations inside Stories, Spotlight videos and even search results, encouraging them to jump into conversations already taking place. Snapchatters will also be able to see which of their friends are participating, and the chats they join will automatically appear near the top of their Topic Chat page. The feature is launching first in the United States, Canada and New Zealand, with a broader rollout expected soon.
As Snapchat explains Topic Chats in their own words:
Snapchatters create billions of Snaps every day, sharing moments with friends and family, and as we’ve expanded services like Spotlight, we’ve also found that the Snapchat community loves commenting publicly about trending topics and events. 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.
For a platform that built its identity on intimacy and privacy, this is a notable shift. Snapchat’s design has always centred on personal exchanges rather than public broadcasts. But Topic Chats suggest the company now sees value in creating spaces where larger groups can gather around shared interests, a model more common among traditional social networks. The move is driven partly by user behaviour and partly by business strategy. Public conversation hubs offer more opportunities for engagement and give advertisers a way to connect with people based on what they care about.
Still, Snapchat insists it is not abandoning its privacy first approach. Even though Topic Chats are public, user protections remain strong. At least that’s what they claim.
People who are not your friends cannot see your full profile, and messages inside Topic Chats show only display names rather than usernames. The company also says these discussions will be moderated using a combination of human review and automated systems to keep conversations healthy.
The real test will be whether Snapchat’s users embrace a feature that shifts the platform away from the private messaging experience that made it popular. It remains to be seen if Topic Chats can meaningfully boost engagement and growth in a competitive social media landscape. What is certain for now is that Snapchat is signalling its ambition to evolve, adding new layers of community, conversation and discovery while trying to preserve the safety and closeness that define the app.
