Snapchat Launches Plans to Turn Group Chats Into In-Person Meetups

According to Snap, users can create a "Snapchat Plan" by adding a title, choosing a date and time, and inviting up to 200 friends. Invitations are delivered directly in a one-on-one chat with each invited friend. Guests can respond with "Going," "Maybe" or "Can't Go" without leaving the conversation, the company said. Invitations are decorated with dynamic Bitmoji cover art that changes as friends respond.

Snapchat is also adding a "My Plans" section to user profiles, where users can browse current, upcoming and past plans. When users click on a friend's profile, they can see events they share with that friend, according to TechCrunch. Hosts can see who is attending, invite more friends and update event details. Guests can view the full guest list, change their RSVP at any time and receive a reminder one hour before the event starts, TechCrunch reported. The Verge reported that reminders are automatically sent to attendees before the scheduled event begins.

The feature is private and invite-only, Snap said, meaning events are visible only to their creator and invitees. Anyone invited can view the guest list. 9to5Mac reported that Snap plans to add the ability to create events directly within a chat soon. The current features include sending and receiving invitations from mutual friends, tracking details such as time, date and attendees, and keeping plans in one place.

Snap said more than a third of its core users already use the app's group chats to plan get-togethers, according to Engadget. The company positioned Plans as a way to prevent missed gatherings caused by buried messages, lost details or forgetting to create an invitation. "No more missed get-togethers because of buried messages, lost details, or forgetting to create an invitation," Snap wrote in a blog post. "Snapchat Plans make it easier to organize these special in-person moments with your friends."

The launch puts Snapchat in competition with Partiful, a popular event-planning and digital invitation platform, as young users turn to dedicated apps to organize get-togethers rather than relying on group chats or social media. Apple launched an app called Invites last year that lets users create custom invitations for any occasion. Engadget noted that event planning is a very old-school social media feature for Snapchat, which has repeatedly claimed it is "not social media."

There is some discrepancy among early reports about location details. TechCrunch said users can track details including time, location and attendees in one place. Engadget reported that the feature did not appear to include the ability to add location details, even though Snapchat has a widely used map feature. A Snap spokesperson told Engadget the company was "actively working on" the ability to add location information to Plans, but it was unclear whether the feature would use Snap Map.

The Verge reported that Snap is struggling to retain users in key markets, making features such as Snapchat Plans, designed to keep users coming back, potentially critical to the company's long-term prospects as it focuses on eyewear.

Editor's Summary

Snapchat launched Plans, an invite-only event-planning suite that lets users create events, invite up to 200 friends and manage RSVPs inside one-on-one chats. The feature adds a My Plans section and positions Snapchat against apps like Partiful and Apple Invites as it seeks to encourage in-person gatherings. Reports differ on whether location details can be added, and Snap says it is working on that capability.