Snapchat rolls out ‘Topic Chats’ for public conversations

Snapchat is expanding beyond its long-standing focus on private messaging with the introduction of Topic Chats, a new feature designed to bring users together around shared interests and real-time events. Whether it’s Formula 1, a trending TV show like Below Deck, or other popular topics, Snapchat now wants to create dedicated spaces for public discussion within the app.

Despite opening the door to more public conversations, Snapchat says it is keeping user privacy at the core of the experience. Profiles will remain fully private to anyone outside your friends list. Messages will display only a user’s display name, and others won’t be able to tap through to view profiles. Display names also cannot be searched, helping prevent unwanted contact.

For safety, Snapchat says it will rely on LLM-based moderation tools, along with a range of internal systems, to monitor Topic Chats. Messages must follow the platform’s Community Guidelines, and users can report anything inappropriate. Those who break the rules may face warnings or even account blocks.

Topic Chats will also show where your friends are participating, making it easier for people to discover shared interests. Alongside messages, these chatrooms will feature relevant Spotlight videos — Snapchat’s TikTok-style short clips — to enrich the real-time conversation.

Until now, the only public interaction space in the app was the Spotlight comment section. Snapchat says the popularity of these comment threads inspired it to create full chat rooms designed around trending themes.

“Snapchatters create billions of Snaps every day… and as we’ve expanded services like Spotlight, we’ve found the community loves commenting publicly about trending topics and events,” the company said in a blog post.

Users in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand will start seeing Topic Chats appear over the coming weeks in Chat shortcuts, search, the Stories tab, and within Spotlight videos. A large yellow “Join the Chat” button on a Story or Spotlight clip will signal that a Topic Chat is available.

Snapchat also noted that Topic Chat messages may be stored for up to five years.