Tech

Snapchat Stories are finally coming to more of your favorite apps

Third-party developers can now bake the feature right into their service.

Nearly a year after Snap announced it would give developers access to Stories, the company is finally making good on that promise. Today, it's launching App Stories, which will let third-party devs bake Snapchat's most popular feature right into their own applications. This is all part of the company's efforts with Snap Kit, a set of tools that allows developers to use different areas of Snapchat, including ads, login, Bitmoji, and now, Stories.

Bigger but private — Although Snap Kit is designed to help with growth, Snap has said since launching it in 2018 that it's taking a privacy-centric approach, and that's why developers don't get access to users' information like demographic data or their friends lists. With App Stories, devs can easily tap into Snapchat's 218 million daily active users, while Snap hopes that becoming more open will translate into more people coming to its platform.

At launch, Snap says there are going to be four applications using App Stories: Hily, Octi, Squad, and Triller, with more expected to take advantage of Snap Kit in the near future. One of the bigger names that will bring Snapchat Stories to its service is dating app Tinder, though that's not available yet and it's unclear when it will officially arrive.

The rise of Snap Kit — In 2019 alone, Snap says that it added more than 150 partners to Snap Kit, signaling that third-party developers are interested in what the company has to offer (namely, its huge user base). It has also teamed up with brands like Fitbit, which is being acquired by Google for roughly $2 billion.

Only time will tell if App Stories end up being successful for Snap, but for now the idea seems promising. As a user, imagine when you can just use your Snapchat account to post a Story directly to Tinder, without having to create yet another social media profile. People love when things are easy to use, and Snap Kit is designed to be all about simplicity for both end users, and the apps or services they're on constantly.