Snapchat is launching Plans, a new suite of tools built to turn casual group chat ideas into actual meetups. The feature set lets users set event details, send invitations to up to 200 friends, and track who is coming, all without leaving the app.
Snap is codifying behavior that is already happening inside the app. Group chats on Snapchat are already full of birthday plans, study sessions, and weekend hangouts. Plans just gives those conversations a structure to land on a calendar.
What Plans Actually Does
Plans is a bundle of features, not a single button. Users can set event details like time and place, then send invitations to friends with dynamic Bitmoji that change as people respond. The invitations are designed to make the RSVP process feel native to Snapchat’s visual language.
The core features work together in a straightforward flow:
- Set event details and invite up to 200 friends.
- Send invitations through one-to-one chat with dynamic Bitmoji.
- Track RSVPs as friends respond.
- Receive automatic reminders before the event starts.
- View all upcoming and past plans in the “My Plans” tab.
Invitations are sent through one-to-one chat, and the system automatically sends reminders to attendees before the event is scheduled to start. There is also a dedicated “My Plans” tab on user profiles, which keeps a running list of upcoming and past plans. That tab acts as a central hub, so users do not have to scroll through old chats to remember what they committed to.
The feature supports up to 200 invited friends per event.
Why Snapchat Needs This Now
The launch comes at a tricky time for Snap. The company is struggling to retain users in key markets, and features like Plans are designed to give people a reason to keep coming back to the app. If a user has an event scheduled and reminders landing in their chat, they are more likely to open Snapchat regularly.
Snap’s owner is also distracted by eyewear. The company has pushed hardware, but the core social app remains the main business. Plans is a software play, aimed at deepening engagement without requiring new devices.
The logic is straightforward: the more plans a user has in the app, the more often they open it.
The Bitmoji Hook
Bitmoji is central to the Plans experience. The dynamic invitations are not just static cards. They change based on how friends respond. That gives the RSVP process a playful, personalized layer that other event tools lack.
Bitmoji has been a longstanding part of Snapchat’s broader product, appearing in various features across the app. Plans extends that by making the avatars part of the event experience.
This is a deliberate choice. Snap is not just adding a utility. It is adding a utility that feels like Snapchat. A plain calendar invite would work, but it would not reinforce the brand. The Bitmoji integration does.
How It Fits in the App
Plans lives entirely inside Snapchat. Users do not need to download a new app or switch platforms. The invite is sent from the same chat where the idea was born, which keeps the friction of moving from conversation to event low.
The announcement does not mention fees, premium tiers, or any monetization model for Plans. What the source describes is a feature set focused on engagement, not revenue.
That is the full scope of what Snap has said. The company has not positioned Plans as a general events platform or made any claims about public listings. It is simply a tool for the plans already being made in group chats.
What This Means for Snap’s Future
Plans is designed to make Snapchat stickier, to give users a reason to open the app multiple times a day. The timing matters.
Snap has faced declining user numbers in some regions, and engagement metrics are a core concern for the company. A feature that drives daily check-ins could help stabilize the user base.
But the success of Plans depends on adoption. Snap can build the tools, but users have to actually use them. The company is betting that the behavior is already there — people are already planning in group chats — and that the new features simply make that behavior smoother.
If users adopt Plans, it could become a habit loop: open the app, check your plans, respond to invites, send reminders. That loop is exactly what Snap needs right now.
The feature is rolling out now, and it will be interesting to see whether it moves the needle on retention. Plans is a quieter, more practical addition than some of Snap’s other efforts.
It does not try to reinvent social media. It just tries to make the plans you already have easier to keep. For a company looking to hold onto its users, that might be enough.
Source: theverge.com
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.