Whether or not Snapchat should have taken the $3 billion cash deal from Facebook remains to be seen, but the ephemeral messaging service has a few more tricks up its sleeve.
Aiming to become a central hub for mobile users, the company is rolling out a new version of Snapchat that includes features for text messaging and video chatting, The New York Times reported.
"The goal has always been to move beyond messaging," Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel said in an interview with the Times. "We're trying to take the traditional text conversation and make it better."
Highly popular among tweens and teenagers, Snapchat is known for its ability to send "snaps" of photos and text that disappear after a few seconds. The feature allowing users to communicate in real time puts Snapchat in direct competition with mobile text messages as well as Facebook's own Messenger app and new acquisition WhatsApp.
Snapchat intends to keep conversation going within the same app, holding users' attention longer.
"If I'm walking around and want to show you something, why do I have to switch apps?" said Spiegel, as quoted by the Times. "It stops the conversation and makes it a transaction, rather than free-flowing."
Similar to Facebook chat, the Snapchat app will now include a "Here" feature that shows when friends are available to talk.
Snapchat will maintain its policy of deleting messages that have been viewed; however, users can tap or screenshot before leaving the chat page to save any important information.
The last update for the service was in October, when Snapchat rolled out a feature called Snapchat Stories, allowing users to save pictures within a 24-hour period to chronicle their day, according to CNBC. Snapchat also launched Stories at the time, letting users post some snaps more publicly so all of their friends on the service can see them.
The startup, which has yet to become profitable, raised a Series C round of venture capital funding in December, soon after Snapchat famously turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook.
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