Snap Introduces Group Video Chat Feature to Boost `Hanging Out’

(Bloomberg) -- Snapchat, the app popular with teens known for its disappearing texts, is introducing a group video chat function that will allow large groups of people to hang out on the site

Taking a page from Facebook Messenger, Snap Inc.’s Snapchat said its new service will allow as many as 16 people to chat via video at one time, in a feature that’s designed “to feel less like texting and more like hanging out.”

The move could encourage Snapchat’s users to spend more time in the app. In the fourth quarter, Snapchat had 187 million daily active users, up 18 percent from a year earlier.

The feature will be rolling out globally this week. In addition to Facebook Inc.’s Messenger, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Corp.’s Skype also offer group video chat options.

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