Snapchat users top 60 mn in India; over 150% growth in daily active users

With over 150 per cent growth in daily active users (DAUs), photo-messaging app Snapchat has seen its user base cross the 60 million-mark in the country, a top company executive said.

Speaking to PTI, Snap Inc Managing Director (International Markets) Nana Murugesan said the company aims to continue building on the growth momentum across product development, partnerships and the augmented reality experience.

Snap is the parent company of Snapchat. The app allows users to share photos and videos with friends for a specific time period after which the content gets deleted. It offers filters and lenses, many of which are augmented reality-enabled.

Globally, Snapchat had 265 million daily active users in the December 2020 quarter. Over 5 billion 'snaps' were created daily on average by users on the platform.

"2020 was a really strong year for us and we are thrilled with the momentum we're seeing. We reached more than 60 million users in India in Q4 20, with strengthening growth throughout the year, and see our community engaging across all parts of Snapchat -- from chatting to Discover content, using our Camera and getting creative with Lens Studio," Murugesan said.

He added that augmented reality (AR) is revolutionising how people communicate, are entertained, learn and experience the world.

"...we see this evolution accelerating. For example, our community played with Diwali-themed Lenses more than 500 million times. This year, we're excited to keep on building on the variety of experiences available on Snapchat for people in India. From exclusive content to games, product development, partnerships and of course AR, we have lots in store," he said.

Murugesan noted that the company is focussed on making Snapchat feel local to its user community in India.

Snap's team in India focuses on developing culturally relevant products, community engagement and partnerships.

Citing examples of engagement in the country, Snap said more than 70 million people had watched Shows in India in 2020, while Diwali-themed Lenses were used more than 500 million times -- more than eight times the engagement of Diwali Lenses in the previous year.

Indian creators are also active in developing lenses and over 6,000 AR experiences had been developed in November 2020. The 'Smoke Flare Lens' by OLC Vivek Thakur went viral in India and across Southeast Asia, garnering billions of views on Snapchat.

Snap is also closely engaging with brand partners for driving engagement on the platform.

OnePlus had created Lenses for Diwali, and their Lenses garnered over 80 million impressions and reached over 14 million Snapchatters in India, Snap said.