Snapchat rolls out ‘topic chats’ for public conversations

Snapchat has primarily focused on private conversations since its founding, but it’s incorporating public conversations with its new “Topic Chat” feature. The social network says the feature will allow users to chat about what’s happening around the world and in different communities, from Formula 1 to reality show Below Deck.

Snapchat says your profile will remain private to non-friends to help prevent unwanted friend requests and direct messages. A user’s display name will appear next to their messages, but other users will not be able to access their profile from topic chats, the company told TechCrunch in an email. Also, unlike usernames, display names cannot be used to search for users.

Snapchat told TechCrunch that it uses LLM technology and other safety measures to moderate topic chats to keep them safe and relevant. Additionally, messages must adhere to Snapchat’s Community Guidelines, and users can report inappropriate messages. The company says it will take measures such as warnings and blocking accounts for users who violate its policies.

Users will be able to see which topic chats their friends are participating in, which the company says will make it easier to find common interests with others.

In addition to messages, topic chats also show related spotlight videos, which are short, TikTok-like videos on the app.

Until now, the only place you could have a public conversation on Snapchat was in Spotlight comments. Snapchat said it was inspired to launch Topic Chats because it saw how its community interacted in public comments and wanted to give users new ways to have these conversations.

“Snapchat users create billions of Snaps and share moments with friends and family every day. And as we expand services like Spotlight, we also know that the Snapchat community loves to publicly comment on trending topics and events,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Users in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States will start seeing topical chats across Snapchat in chat shortcuts, search, the Story page, and Spotlight videos in the coming weeks. If you see a big yellow button in your Story or Spotlight that says “Join Chat,” you can click it to enter the chat room.

Snapchat says messages sent in topic chats are retained for up to five years.