Snapchat last week introduced cartoon-like avatars, known as 3D bitmoji, a natural for sponsorship opportunities. Before Snap acquired the maker of bitmoji last year, the avatars appeared next to famous lines from movies like "The Terminator" and depicted scenes from "Game of Thrones."

But advertisers shouldn’t get their hopes up. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told people privately earlier this year he has no plans to make money off bitmoji, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. As Mr. Spiegel explained it, the risk of alienating users isn’t worth the money the company could potentially make off the product.