Snapchat

The Information's in-depth reporting about Snapchat.
Follow this topic to get the latest updates from The Information reporters and subscribers.

Recent Articles about Snapchat
Art by Clark Miller
Policy

Parents Are So Over Policing Kids’ Tech Use. A New Push for Laws Could Help

By Paris Martineau · Feb 22, 2025 5:00am PST · 1 comment
Clint and Pam Legaspi tried to take a balanced approach when introducing their now-12-year-old daughter to technology. Her first device was an educational LeapPad tablet, not an iPad. Later, they ignored her requests for an iPhone and instead gave her an iPod Touch, but only after carefully curating its apps: giving her access to Pinterest,... Clint and Pam Legaspi tried to take a balanced approach when introducing their now-12-year-old...
Photo via Getty
The Briefing

Reddit and AppLovin, the Young Turks of Digital Advertising

By Martin Peers · Feb 12, 2025 5:00pm PST
Oh, to be young again. That must be what folks at Google and Meta Platforms think when they look at the two digital-ad rocket ships of the past 12 months, AppLovin and Reddit. (Sure, Reddit is 20 years old, but it’s relatively new to the ad market.) That youth is demonstrated by how much their businesses, and their stocks, exploded last year.We... Oh, to be young again. That must be what folks at Google and Meta Platforms think when they look...
President Donald Trump. Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

Why Trump’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Plan for TikTok Won’t Work

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 5, 2025 2:36pm PST
President Trump’s plan to set up a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, which he said could play a role in buying TikTok’s U.S. business, is generating a lot of conversation this week. But here’s why it’s unlikely to work out. First of all, it’s unclear where the money to seed such a fund would come from. Sovereign wealth funds are common in... President Trump’s plan to set up a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, which he said could play a role in...
A Google Cloud data center. Photo via Google.
DeepSeek Doesn't Slow Tech’s AI Capex Splurge
By Martin Peers · Feb 4, 2025 5:00pm PST
A Google Cloud data center. Photo via Google.
The Briefing

DeepSeek Doesn't Slow Tech’s AI Capex Splurge

By Martin Peers · Feb 4, 2025 5:00pm PST
Tech’s AI-driven capex splurge lives! Google parent Alphabet today said it expected to lay out $75 billion on capital expenditures this year, a 43% lift over 2024. That puts Google very close to Microsoft, which has said it will spend $80 billion building artificial intelligence data centers in its fiscal year ending June. Meta Platforms, with... Tech’s AI-driven capex splurge lives! Google parent Alphabet today said it expected to lay out...
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo via Flickr/Fortune.
Creator Economy

YouTube’s Election Boost; Spiegel Goes Public on Snapchat

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 4, 2025 3:50pm PST
We’re hearing a lot of YouTube creators and media executives have already descended on New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl Sunday. Back at home in rainy Mountain View, Google leaders have been talking up the last national event that boosted YouTube—the 2024 presidential election. In a call with investors late Tuesday, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai... We’re hearing a lot of YouTube creators and media executives have already descended on New...
Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

Why Creator Funds Are Back

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 30, 2025 2:00pm PST
As TikTok’s future remains in turmoil, competitors are trying to take advantage of the situation. One way is bringing back a tried-and-true tactic from 2021: creator funds. This month, companies including creator commerce app Flip, which competes with TikTok Shop, and newsletter publisher Substack announced programs that offer cash... As TikTok’s future remains in turmoil, competitors are trying to take advantage of the situation....
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
Events

Expect ‘Uncertainty Around TikTok for Years’: Event Recap

By Rocket Drew · Jan 22, 2025 1:10pm PST · 1 comment
TikTok got a second life after President Donald Trump extended the deadline for the app to find a U.S. buyer by another 75 days. But its future remains far from clear, given questions about whether Trump, ByteDance and the Chinese government will eventually agree on a deal. And that means rivals, creators and advertisers will be in limbo for a... TikTok got a second life after President Donald Trump extended the deadline for the app to find a...
TikTok Plans To Go Dark; U.S. Creator Startup Funding Bounces Back
TikTok Plans To Go Dark; U.S. Creator Startup Funding Bounces Back
By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 15, 2025 2:00pm PST
TikTok Plans To Go Dark; U.S. Creator Startup Funding Bounces Back
Creator Economy

TikTok Plans To Go Dark; U.S. Creator Startup Funding Bounces Back

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 15, 2025 2:00pm PST
Before we get to the rest of today’s newsletter, we have the latest update on TikTok. On Tuesday night, my colleague Sylvia and I reported TikTok’s plans to shut off its app for U.S. users on Sunday, the day a U.S. law will ban the app, unless the Supreme Court intervenes.That news is causing quite a stir among creators, their managers and users... Before we get to the rest of today’s newsletter, we have the latest update on TikTok. On Tuesday...
Ranger founder and CEO, Josh Ip. Photo courtesy of Ranger.
AI Agenda

General Catalyst Backs Startup in New AI Category: Software Testing

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 15, 2025 7:00am PST
When it comes to the billion-dollar question of where businesses are seeing the biggest returns from conversational AI, automating software development has emerged as an early frontrunner. We have AI software to autocomplete lines of code, AI software to write entire apps, and soon, AI software to test other software.That last one is the focus... When it comes to the billion-dollar question of where businesses are seeing the biggest returns...
In the face of a potential ban, TikTok users are joining another Chinese-owned social app, RedNote or Xiaohongshu in Chinese. Image by Getty
Creator Economy

As TikTok Ban Looms, Competitors Are Circling

By Kaya Yurieff and Juro Osawa · Jan 14, 2025 2:00pm PST
As we near Sunday’s effective date of a U.S. law that could ban TikTok, a growing number of U.S. TikTok users are joining another Chinese-owned social app: RedNote. The app, known as Xiaohongshu in Chinese, is similar to Instagram. The movement has helped turn RedNote into one of the most downloaded apps in the U.S. almost overnight. Some... As we near Sunday’s effective date of a U.S. law that could ban TikTok, a growing number of U.S....
Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic. Photo by Getty.
AI Agenda

Anthropic Makes OpenAI Look Cheap—Again

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 8, 2025 7:00am PST · 1 comment
Well that didn’t take long! We’re barely a week into the new year and already we’ve reported that Anthropic is in talks to raise $2 billion in new funding at a $60 billion post-investment valuation. Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that’s also backed rival AI developers including Mistral, Stability AI and Cartesia, is set... Well that didn’t take long! We’re barely a week into the new year and already we’ve reported...
Holiday decorations surrounding the East Wing entrance of the White House. Photo by Getty
Biden Bids Creators a Holiday Farewell
By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 19, 2024 1:00pm PST
Holiday decorations surrounding the East Wing entrance of the White House. Photo by Getty
Creator Economy

Biden Bids Creators a Holiday Farewell

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 19, 2024 1:00pm PST
I spent Tuesday afternoon at the White House’s holiday party for influencers. It was packed: more than 500 attendees mingled over spiked eggnog and cocktail shrimp, including hip-hop artist Flava Flav, comedian Keegan-Michael Key, reality TV star turned podcaster Harry Jowsey—and of course, the Bidens. Tuesday's party, the second year the... I spent Tuesday afternoon at the White House’s holiday party for influencers. It was packed: more...
Photos by Getty.
Creator Economy

The Year In Charts, From Podcasts to Startup Funding

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 17, 2024 2:00pm PST
We published a ton of our popular charts and tables this year, comparing everything from TikTok’s growing list of rivals to shifts in how creators make money. After looking back at our work, three data points stand out for representing major themes in the creator economy this year.First up: podcasting’s big boom. The most popular hosts,... We published a ton of our popular charts and tables this year, comparing everything from TikTok’s...
AppLovin CEO, Adam Foroughi. Photo via AppLovin.

Why DTC Brands Suddenly Love AppLovin Ads

By Ann Gehan · Dec 13, 2024 6:00am PST
Direct-to-consumer retailers burned by higher digital ad prices over the past three years have grown desperate to reduce their dependency on Meta Platforms. So this fall, when mobile game giant AppLovin started letting retail brands buy ads that run within games like Legend of Slime and Sushi Roll 3D, the results seemed almost too good to be... Direct-to-consumer retailers burned by higher digital ad prices over the past three years have...
Exclusive

Trump Aides Contact Google, Meta, Snap Over Online Drug Sales

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Dec 8, 2024 11:10am PST · 1 comment
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has invited five major tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms, to a meeting in mid-December about dealing with online drug sales, according to a person with direct knowledge of the correspondence. A representative for Jim Carroll—the drug czar during Trump’s... President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has invited five major tech companies,...
Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo courtesy of HBO.
Cameo’s Open Casting Call
By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 3, 2024 2:00pm PST
Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. Photo courtesy of HBO.
Creator Economy

Cameo’s Open Casting Call

By Kaya Yurieff · Dec 3, 2024 2:00pm PST
As shutdowns and acquisitions continue to hit the creator economy, some of the sector’s buzziest pandemic darlings are still chugging along and trying to revamp their businesses. The latest: On Tuesday, Cameo announced it’s making it easier for online personalities to sign up to join the video shoutout service. The startup said its new... As shutdowns and acquisitions continue to hit the creator economy, some of the sector’s buzziest...
Teenagers in Melbourne, Australia, on their phones. Photo by Getty.
The Briefing

What Australia’s Social Media Kids Ban Means for Tech

By Martin Peers · Nov 29, 2024 2:00pm PST
While U.S. tech executives were tucking into their turkey on Thursday or guzzling Koia shakes, Australian lawmakers were approving a law that bans children under 16 from having a social media account. Whoa! Australia is a relatively small country whose revenue contribution to Meta Platforms, Snap or TikTok is likely minuscule. But investors have... While U.S. tech executives were tucking into their turkey on Thursday or guzzling Koia shakes,...