Save 50% on a 3-month Digiday+ membership. Ends Dec 5.
Snapchat is going to make custom filters the latest bat mitzvah party craze.
In its continuing quest to monetize, the ephemeral photo messaging app is selling “on-demand geofilters” to people, shifting away from it being a brand-centric feature.
Now, anyone can submit a filter design to Snapchat to be approved within a day, which then can appear in a designated area between the area of 20,000 square feet (an office floor) to 5,000,000 square feet (several city blocks). The filters appear live between an hour to up to a month.
As exemplified in this video from Snapchat, the app is further entrenching custom filters as its trademark feature since it lacks hashtags or tagging photos like on Facebook and Twitter. Just look how every one is excited to use a cat filter at this birthday party:
Prices begin at $5 for a filter that lasts eight hours and appears over a small venue, say a ballroom, with prices escalating depending on the length of time and square footage. Snapchat is also providing an analytics dashboard to see how many people used the filter.
Previously, Snapchat only made filters available to brands to purchase. It sells sponsored lenses for as much as $750,000. The app has also tried in-app purchases before with a Lens Store that was closed after just two months.
Ad position: web_incontent_pos1
More in Media
Digiday+ Research Subscription Index 2025: Subscription strategies from Bloomberg, The New York Times, Vox and others
Digiday’s third annual Subscription Index examines and measures publishers’ subscription strategies to identify common approaches and key tactics among Bloomberg, The New York Times, Vox and others.
From lawsuits to lobbying: How publishers are fighting AI
We may be closing out 2025, but publishers aren’t retreating from the battle of AI search — some are escalating it, and they expect the fight to stretch deep into 2026.
Media Briefing: Publishers turn to vertical video to compete with creators and grow ad revenue in 2026
Publishers add vertical video feeds to their sites to boost engagement, attract video ad spend and compete with news creators.
Ad position: web_bfu