App Launches Web Version

A popular messaging app announced Monday that it's going in what might seem like reverse. Snapchat has launched a web version, which will allow users to send snaps and hold video calls on their desktops, TechCrunch reports. For now, only Snapchat+ subscribers, who pay $3.99 a month, can use Snapchat for Web. It's not available everywhere yet but is live in the US. Snap said the new version will offer web chat reactions and chat reply, and, soon, Lenses, per NBC News. As with the mobile version, messages will disappear after 24 hours.

Snap said it's starting with the basics and will add features such as viewing Stories and Memories later. Snapchat for Web users will be able to pick up their conversations where they left off, per TechCrunch. A Bitmoji will appear with a laptop during chats to show others you're using the web version. A spokesperson said users spend more than a half-hour per day on calls. "We saw a huge opportunity," a company statement said. Snap shares have fallen about 70% this year, and the company said in May it would miss its second-quarter revenue and profit goals. (More Snapchat stories.)