Snap Inc. Announces Context Cards for Snapchat

Snapchat

Ever see your mates Snapchat story of the best looking pizza you've ever seen and wonder where they are, if it's any good and whether it's worth visiting? Look no further; Snapchat have revealed Context Cards, which, as the name suggests, give context and further info on a Story you view.

Announced a couple of days ago via Snap Inc.'s News blog, Context Cards are a way to boost both user experience and companies' reach, acting as a feature to provide useful in-app information plus an advertising tool.

When viewing a Story, swipe up to view the Context Card, where you'll find info and options from partner companies, reviews from TripAdvisor, transport options and estimates from Uber or Lyft, the option to book a table from OpenTable or BookaTable, plus many more.

See the promotional video below to see how it works:

For companies who have a Context Card, they're in a fantastic position to boost reach and share what they're about to Snapchat's 158 million daily users. The increasing popularity of in-app features is enhancing reach, with information available easily, quickly and without being redirected somewhere else which risks the chance of your smartphone crashing - depending how new your device is, that is.

Features like Context Cards could even threaten search engines like Google, as any info about a place or event viewed on a Story can be given in-app (whereas without the Cards, many would ask Siri or turn to Google to get the low-down.)

Snap say that as people use Context Cards and they figure out what's successful and what needs to be improved, they'll add partners and additional information to make the feature the best it can be for all parties.

Snap Inc.'s post announcing the feature reads:

"With Context Cards, Snaps have become the visual starting point for learning more about the world, empowering our community to get more information about anything that catches their eye."