Snapchat is known for its endless cycle of ephemeral content, but that could be about to change as the social media platform is reportedly considering a new permanent video and photo feature.
Reuters reported late last week that “people familiar with the matter” believe that Snapchat may pivot to different forms of content in the future. However, for the time being, the muted changes would only affect the “Our Story” format, which enables users to publish posts to a wider audience outsider of a core group of friends or family.
Snapchat built its platform around ephemeral experiences and the idea that any photos and videos uploaded to the platform would then expire and disappear after 24 hours. A recent update now allows users to create public posts that remain visible for up to 90 days.
The idea of introducing permanent content may have been driven by news organisations and publishers, who are believed to have been reluctant to post articles that will eventually expire. With the trend of evergreen content, Snapchat may now be looking to new ways to make posts more useful for users, audiences and partners.
While the report did not divulge any details about the motivations behind the potential changes, content that remained active for longer would enable Snapchat to generate more ad revenue and make it a more appealing and lucrative prospect for content creators and other third parties.
Reuters said that Snapchat declined to comment and has yet to release an official statement. The report also said that user identities may also be revealed for the first time.
