Over 1,000 developers have brought their apps to life with the best of Snapchat through Snap Kit. Snap Kit helps our partners enable safe logins, helps users communicate visually, and makes partner apps more engaging and delightful. 

We are continuously investing in our developer tools and platform. Snap Kit is constantly evolving. And today, we are excited to announce __Creative Kit for Spotlight__.

We are bringing Creative Kit’s powerful sharing capabilities into Spotlight. __Creative Kit for Spotlight__ extends the reach of Creative Kit so that Snapchatters and Snap Stars alike can enhance their Spotlight posts with content provided by partner apps, such as Voisey and Powder, the breakout app that lets players edit and share gaming video on mobile.

Spotlight posts can now be enhanced with attributed content from our partners. Attributed content will be aggregated to App Pages and these app pages will show users how their fellow Snapchatters are expressing themselves using partner content and apps. Furthermore, these app pages will help drive organic installs to help grow audiences.

Our partners are excited because of the potential for Creative Kit for Spotlight to drive new organic downloads, triggered by attributions. In the example below, the app page will increase interest in the app and it will encourage users to download the app from the app store. 

This example shows a user flow that results in organic app installs

<img class="wide" src="//images.ctfassets.net/68xrbr88wfp0/6VkZICqsLdAb2nGDNxCjiA/90fe059659bba53b641f70a5f4664d1b/J0937_Creative_Kit_for_Spotlight_Press_Asset_Voisey_Press_Asset_16x9_06112021.png" />

In this example, a Spotlight post has been enhanced by content from an app. The attribution of the content is attached to the story.

When clicked, the Snapchatter is directed to the content provider’s App Page. From there the Snapchatter can see how others on Snapchat are engaging with the content. 

The App Page encourages Snapchatters to visit the app store, driving organic installs.

__There’s Also a Pre-Set Topics API to Track Campaigns__

In addition to App Page, we are making it possible to aggregate topics too in a Topic Page. 

\#Topics in Spotlight are useful for identification (i.e. for campaigns, challenges, trends, etc.) and content categorization (i.e. #comedy, #dogs, #sports, etc.). Developers can set up to 3 optional #Topics for each post that is shared to Spotlight to increase engagement and track campaigns (for example, “#YearInReview”).

This feature provides additional free distribution to partners and developers, including free traffic back to their app or website. We expect that Snapchatters will show Increased engagement with partners’ content. 
Thank you very much for checking out these exciting new Snap Kit innovations. If you want to learn more, click here to read our developer documentation.

We’d love to hear what you think. Please reach out anytime to learn more.

Thanks!

The Snap Kit team

Extending Creative Kit into Spotlight!

Snap Kit was released worldwide in 2018. Since then, we have seen the ecosystem grow to over 1,000 developers building their apps on [Snap Kit](https://kit.snapchat.com/). Some of the early breakout successes included [Hily](https://hily.com/) and Squad. Squad ended up getting [acquired by Twitter](https://esthercrawford.medium.com/squad-is-now-part-of-twitter-48dd73891f71), and now the Squad team is there to help Twitter reach a new generation of users.

More recently, we have seen [sendit](https://sendit.schoolpointe.com/) rise to the top of the app store. According to App Annie, in September 2020 sendit reached the number 3 position among all iOS apps downloaded in the United States, and then spent two weeks as *the* most downloaded app in the lifestyle category. Sendit was only two years old at the time. 

How did these apps knock it out of the park so quickly? The same way the world’s most successful apps grow their success metrics. The easiest way to grow efficiently is to keep your eye on CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost). 

__Customer Acquisition Cost, CAC__

The cost of acquiring customers is hard to calculate. And acquiring customers is never easy, especially for apps where competition is fierce. Successful app makers watch their marketing and advertising spend and then monitor how that spend translates into downloads. It does not take long to realize that worrying about performance advertising and media spend is not enough. 

Here are five ways to lower your CAC and drive more downloads.

__Use Your Performancing Advertising Budget Efficiently__

If your app’s audience is aligned with Gen Y or Gen Z demographics primarily, you can improve your targeting by running your ads only across the media that your target  demographic consumes. Too often, performance advertising budgets are spent on misaligned inventory. Try entering into PMP (Private Market Place) deals with publishers directly or Supply Side Platforms (SSP) that can push your spend toward a tighter circle of ad inventory. For example, if your target is “Gen Z women in college who love casual gaming”, your SSP can help you ensure ad spend is directed to the most appropriate media.

And since CAC is all about the downloads, winning ad impressions is not enough. Publishers should focus on performance and completed calls-to-action, seeking ad platforms that monetize when downloads are completed.

__Reduce Login Friction__

We all have come across *THAT* app we once downloaded - and then never used because we never  created an account! And so we deleted *THAT* app.

The easiest way to get new users and engage them is to make it possible to use your app without forcing an account creation. But that’s not really in the app publisher’s interest; there should be a fair exchange of value between user and publisher - a two way street. To lower friction, Snap recommends that you leverage existing accounts.

For example, if you have a great app targeting recent high school graduates, allow them to register with the social media accounts they use the most.

At Snap, we created [Login Kit](https://kit.snapchat.com/login-kit) to make it easy for users to login to apps with their Snapchat account. We even made it possible for Snapchatters to bring their Bitmoji identity with them. Over time we discovered that this small convenience reduced friction significantly. Snapchatters trust how Snap treats user data and user privacy. So Snapchatters are more comfortable logging into new apps from their Snap account.

__Don’t Forget About App Store Optimization (ASO)__

Users are never more likely to download an app than when they are in the app store. This seems obvious but it’s surprising how many app makers forget about App Store Optimization.

ASO done well means that you are reading your app reviews, monitoring your downloads, and inserting the right keywords into an app’s description. Organic search results are extremely important in both Android and IOS worlds, so listen to user reviews and learn from their language when selecting your app’s keywords. 

But, Paid Search can also help you ensure that your app is the top of every search result in the IOS app store. Take advantage of the fact that your competitors probably do ASO poorly.

__Make Your Users Your Best Marketers __

Your audience may love your product and they might want to recommend it to all their friends. Great products anticipate growth that is driven word-of-mouth and they build loops into the user experience which encourage virality. Virality is rarely accidental; it has to be encouraged.

For example, apps that use [Creative Kit](https://kit.snapchat.com/creative-kit) bring fun elements from Snap’s partners back into the Snap camera which can then be shared to Stories or as Snaps among friends. With Creative Kit, Snap lets users share lenses, stickers, and filters among other examples of fun content. 

We encourage our partners to add Dynamic Lenses for Creative Kit to their app’s “Share to Snapchat” flow. Users can see their Snap camera update dynamically with contextual data like live scores, leaderboards, or the weather and more. Sharing content has never been more fun or easy. And when content is shared in Snapchat, there is a very strong chance that other Snapchatters will interact. A typical share is seen 120 times on Snapchat and users complete a CTA 7% of the time.

__Get in the habit of A/B Testing - Everything!__

Copy, creative, and the login experience can all be optimized. When you understand your target audience, start experimenting. Tweak the welcome screen. Tweak your email campaigns. Tweak your app descriptions in the app stores.

Your marketing communication should be fluid and flexible and constantly refined. You’ll eventually land somewhere that resounds well with your audience but...people and tastes change. So A/B Testing Everything must become part of the way your customer acquisition team operates.

__Thank you!__

We are excited by our developer community and cannot wait to see the next Squad or next Sendit emerge soon!

Please check out Snap Kit [developer site](https://kit.snapchat.com/manage/) when you have a moment. We’ve made it easy for developers to register their apps and review the documentation you need to get started right away.


Five Ways that Smart Apps Lower CAC

Today, more than 800 apps have integrated with Snap Kit, and nearly 150 million Snapchatters are engaging with these integrations every month. These app developers have been able to quickly grow their businesses and create engaging experiences with users worldwide. We continue to offer these tools to support developers, and that’s why on March 16th, we are excited to invite you to our live Developer Hour on how to get started with one of Snap Kit’s core products, Creative Kit and its latest feature, Dynamic Lenses.

<img class="wide" src="//images.ctfassets.net/68xrbr88wfp0/2Qrdc6UzhaTr7XTwmYtLcf/3402ec9f0b28f7af0a363a3ff06c22a0/Event_Marketing_Banner.png" />

With Creative Kit, you can enable your users to share lenses, stickers, filters, videos, and links, from other apps and websites with their friends on Snapchat. And with Dynamic Lenses, you can customize the shared lenses dynamically with contextually relevant data: live scores, leaderboards, weather, location & more.

Register to attend our live event on __March 16th at 10:00 am (PST)__, where you will learn all the basics in getting started with integrating Creative Kit and Dynamic Lenses. We will conclude with a live Q&A session to answer any questions you have. See you there!

[Register](https://gettingstartedwithcreativekita.splashthat.com/)

Learn how to get started with Creative Kit & Dynamic Lenses

The Snap Kit developer portal is where thousands of partners create and manage their integrations, view analytics, and access docs every single week. Starting today, we’re rolling out a brand new version of this portal to our community. 

We’ve taken several years worth of feedback, learnings from usage, and feature requests from our partners to rebuild the infrastructure and user experience. This release completely rethinks many of the core flows—from sign-up to app and version creation to the review system. It also sets us up to move faster with feature updates, which we’ll be rolling out frequently through the end of the year. You can check out the new portal [here](https://kit.snapchat.com/manage/), or read on to see what’s changed. 

##### Improved Kit Management
<img className="wide" src="//images.ctfassets.net/68xrbr88wfp0/2gbzeMvwXvkKWE3pKYO3l9/7a6de6bc0b706a81194a87be5b6fae26/config.png" />
We simplified Kit configuration, with each Kit being contained to a single section for easier management. 

##### Rebuilt Version Model
<img className="wide" src="//images.ctfassets.net/68xrbr88wfp0/6e5TBHlVOVC0AYj6GGznV7/c23652aa3fa37da000376c3f53f36ed3/versions.png" />
Now, you can create N number of versions for each integration, which allows for easier mapping to iOS and Android releases. 

##### Clearer Review Requirements
<img className="wide" src="//images.ctfassets.net/68xrbr88wfp0/4zTd9fVUXw56OIDOqXONsx/df3cf9cda4d379ef2d34b53cfdf7c905/app-review.png" />
Each version clearly outlines what is required for review, and in turn provides improved visibility into review status, and feedback post-review.

The New Snap Kit Developer Portal

Over the past two months, we have seen you — our amazing community of Snap Kit developers — work on some incredibly ambitious projects. Our goal for Snap Kit has always been to enable innovation with our tools inside and outside of Snapchat. In this year’s [Snap Kit Developer Challenge](https://snapkit.devpost.com/), we saw creative minds from all over the world build so many fun, new integrations, and we really had our hands full selecting winners. 

But after much deliberation, we found five projects that completely won us over. Here are this year’s category winners:

 

__🏆 Best Use of Dynamic Lenses: Learn It__

[Learn It](https://snapkit.devpost.com/review/submissions/Sm5yb25VeUNMTkIvaXNmUzNER2htSTlDdU4zczIrTzBEYjhWVWZnN2ZKM3M2OVdaSVhTdlcwbVhKUTRRVDVhR1I5aW5ZT01LVm53REZzcUVXWlJ5MkVFaW1IajA3VVBzUlVSS0ZQLzVwM2s9LS1aSmpSZitLVytpZmhtZWxmVnJuek93PT0=--8334472638c7f75f774e40ad631d1d03072e2163), which was designed and developed by Dishant Gandhi, brings a new meaning to experiential learning by mixing Augmented Reality content with education. Using Creative Kit and Snap Lenses, students can visualize curriculum content while sharing a dynamic lens with friends on Snap in AR.

 

__🏆 Best Use of Bitmoji: Happy - with friends__

For those of us that are stuck in our homes, now is a perfect time for an app like [Happy - with friends](https://snapkit.devpost.com/review/submissions/OEdLU3Q1Q2RWNGd4YmlreW9tS1JSeXFvVUpTWkpFVlBMVndrOUg1d2dtUWxhd09UbnUrd0IyR01XNUhpN2lhT1pnTUdOQW5id3Jrb1FhTzYrWGdQcUpacFkwUjlDaFYzN3pWeVlkb0dqZzA9LS1Hak52OFlnQ0RRbzk2bDEvTU9QU1F3PT0=--8c88e7f8d3bbe642d5d911b8575d155da56c91ad). Daniel Minini and Hanno Weiß remind us in their project that people are much more likely to build good habits when they share updates with friends. Anyone who uses Happy can personalize their profile with a Bitmoji avatar and motivate friends using Bitmoji stickers.

__(Runner Up: Botmoji)__

 

__🏆 Best Design: Fleek__

Online shopping doesn’t have to be overwhelming — especially when it’s social. [Fleek](https://snapkit.devpost.com/review/submissions/NUV2OEpLSmM2NGNYMHBRWURic1JTZWdFcDQ1OEUxRkI2dzNEVkliQ0tGWEQ2N3Y0aDBldCs4dlY4S0ZxdmJpVStMWHA2V1hxd1RiOWR0WXp5Tnl2V1dZMmFQRXpzSUw2WjhGcTl2OW9SNkk9LS0vdjRoVElrSkxuMHQxcE9ybWxFTE93PT0=--6479d771858aa09ad0d570ade4068b2a059587d3), is here to bring friends and fun back into fashion browsing on mobile. Built by Naman Kedia, Kian Ghodoussi, and Cyprien Toffa — Fleek learns more about a shopper’s taste from every swipe, and with Creative Kit, Snapchat friends can weigh in on what they think about your style.

__(Runner Up: Like My Recent)__

 

__🏆 Innovation Award: Snap Keys__

Snapchatters love video games, but some games have accessibility limitations. [Snap Keys](https://snapkit.devpost.com/review/submissions/QVovUXdCUUZodlIxbGZKRUd3d3RuSzh1c284a3hWRlgySnczZGx6ZlJNeFNyelc5eDNIQUhrK1FnZ2txNksyRWxUaE1NY1VGSHlHMGJNSE1hbXFucE55ZlJVZE82UDRBa01xeVIwbkw2dTg9LS0rVXVBNHZQUCtkb3VpbXFGLy9RSHdnPT0=--210817c37e76456e623ac9009e635fc2bae91caa) turns Dynamic Lenses into PC game controllers by using hand gestures and facial expressions to navigate in-game action.

__(Runner Up: mercNmore)__

 

__🏆 Best Overall Use of Snap Kit: Swirl__

Challenging your friends on Snapchat just got a boost. [Swirl](https://snapkit.devpost.com/review/submissions/T1VXRTlSZnl3STE5Nlk2dEVHdWNGWnN6SVVDeTkrT2luTHo3S1drR3pDSG1kR214dTFFR1pBclpyc0ttUTBmejY3cWNvMFBuTVdaaE9pUnNNVzhSVHpCZ3VMbXpvMERWMkY3aS85b0ZFd3M9LS1wQ3RFblZZdmNvOGdKdmxLeFhDNkJnPT0=--bd86c41dffdc79d407ab7b087b46ce9d054172dd) makes the process of creating and sharing challenges with friends both fun and engaging. Choose from a collection of template themes like movies, music, or memes. Just tag friends to participate and keep the fun going.

__(Runner Up: Premo)__

 

And that’s it! Congrats to each of our five category winners, and a special thanks goes out to everyone who built something with us this year. We sincerely thank everyone for your participation and can’t wait to see you all continue to build on what you’ve done.

Announcing Category Winners for the 2020 Snap Kit Developer Challenge

Ready to build your next app masterpiece with Snap Kit? We’re thrilled to announce our second-ever global Snap Kit challenge.

Over the past two years, we’ve been overwhelmed by the extraordinary experiences the Snap Developer community has built using our tools. [YOLO](https://onyolo.com/)’s foundational use of Creative, Bitmoji, and Login Kit helped to turn it into an app that millions of people use. [Squad](https://squadapp.io) and [Triller](https://www.triller.co)’s use of Story Kit and Creative Kit enabled sharing to and from their respective app experiences. The [HAGS](https://www.hags.app/) app also made an extraordinary difference in the lives of students by allowing friends to connect and sign yearbooks with their Bitmoji, even if they can’t do it in person.

But we want to see more of your brilliance, and we know your best creative ideas are ready to make their debut. 

Today, we’re kicking off a three-month hackathon to discover what else this inspirational community can build.

This competition is designed to find the best uses of Snap Kit in the following categories:

🏆 __Best Use of Dynamic Lenses__
There’s no better way to share on Snapchat than with engaging AR Lenses. We can’t wait to see what you do with Creative Kit’s newest feature.

🏆 __Best Use of Bitmoji__
People have a deep connection with their Bitmoji Avatar. Show us how your app can best utilize Bitmoji stickers as a form of identity and expression!

🏆 __Best Design__
A lot can be said with great design. This award will go to the app that puts aesthetics and user experience at the forefront of their development using Snap Kit. We want your app to give us goosebumps!

🏆 __Innovation Award__
We want to see your creativity truly shine through for this prize. Build something we could never have seen coming.

🏆 __Best Overall Use of Snap Kit__
This one is all-encompassing. Any of the publicly accessible Snap Kit products are fair game. This trophy will go to the best use of one or more Snap Kit tools to create an experience worth loving.


The submission deadline is __October 5__. The best app in each category will receive a $1,000 prize with the chance to pitch the Snap team for the $5,000 grand prize (and some major bragging rights).

Head over to [snapkit.devpost.com](https://snapkit.devpost.com/) and sign up for the competition to get started. Then sign up for a Snap Kit Developer account on [SnapKit.com](https://snapkit.com) and dive head first into our [technical docs](https://snapkit.com/docs). This competition is subject to eligibility and applicable laws. Read the rules [here](https://snapkit.devpost.com/rules).

There’s so much you can do, and we can’t wait to see what you come up with!


Introducing the 2020 Snap Kit Developer Challenge

Last week, we introduced Verify With Snapchat, a new way to verify phone numbers through Snap Kit. Verify With Snapchat is the newest addition to Login Kit and can be used in two ways: through Verify and Connect or Verify Only (**new!**). 

**Verify and Connect** allows developers to check a phone number and verify that it matched the one on file for a user’s Snapchat account. Once the number has been verified and confirmed on Snapchat, users will be redirected to a native Login modal. After authorization, users will return to the 3PA connected and verified. 

With the new **Verify Only** launch, developers can verify phone numbers on demand. They are now able to run the verification flow **outside** of the authorization flow, allowing Verify With Snapchat to be triggered at different points of the application. In this flow, Snapchat will only verify the inputted phone number and will not redirect users to the Login modal for authorization.

Please note that Snapchat will **only** use a phone number to verify if it is used by a Snapchat account. Snapchat will **not** use any phone number data for advertising purposes. If a phone number is not registered on Snapchat, we will ask users to update their Snapchat account with the new number.

Check out the docs to get started!

**Happy Building!**


Login Kit: Verify Only

Today we’re excited to release Verify with Snapchat, a new way to verify phone numbers through Snap Kit.

Since launching Snap Kit, we’ve heard from partners that phone verification adds friction and massive costs to building apps. In many cases, teams spend weeks setting up SMS verification, signing contracts with multiple domestic and international vendors, and adding a large cost center to their business. We’ve already done this heavy lifting and want to make it available to our community for free. 

We designed a solution that allows any developer to verify phone number ownership against our 229 million daily active Snapchatter accounts*, while eliminating the need for an SMS. Like all Snap Kit features, limiting the amount of personal data that we share with third parties is central to our approach, and Verify with Snapchat is no exception. 

Here’s how it works:

![verify-demo](//images.ctfassets.net/68xrbr88wfp0/23h05zQ3kGtfAZQ4wX3EEw/d3018817cee954bec50ec0b213a07947/Pup_Luv_Verify_v6gif_FINAL.gif)


When partners use Verify, they pass a phone number to Snapchat rather than dispatching an SMS verification code. If the number has been verified with us recently, it will be confirmed and the user will be returned to their app. If the user is outside of the verification window, we’ll simply allow them to re-verify on the spot at no cost to the developer. 

Verify with Snapchat will be a powerful tool for developers of all sizes, and it’s available today! Head over to the docs to get started!

**Happy Snapping!**

 

*Snap Inc. internal data Q1 2020. See Snap Inc. public filings with the SEC.

Introducing Verify With Snapchat

We are excited to introduce an addition to our developer tools-- __App Stories__! 

Story Kit’s __App Stories__ allows your community to post Stories to your platform, straight from the Snapchat app. After Snapchatters have linked their accounts, they will be able to capture and add Snaps to a unique Story that will appear in your app. They can then view and manage the Stories they post to your app on Snapchat. 

Snapchat is one of the most used cameras in the world - on average, Daily Active Snapchatters open our camera over 20 times each day, and over 210 million Snaps are created each day.*

If you’d like to use Stories in your app, we’d love to hear from you! Send us your ideas in this [form](https://support.snapchat.com/en-US/co/snap-kit-contact) and we’ll get in touch if we see a fit. 

As always, a full changelog for Version 1.4 of the SDK can be found [here](https://docs.snapchat.com/docs/changelog/). __Note__: App Stories requires Snapchat 10.74.


Happy building! 

**Snap Inc. internal data Q3 2019.*


Snap Kit SDK 1.4

After four weeks of amazing brainstorming, creativity, and creation, the Product Hunt Makers Festival has finally come to a close. When we built Snap Kit, we imagined an opportunity to partner with creative developers everywhere to bring the best parts of their apps into Snapchat, and the best parts of Snapchat into their products. We couldn’t be more pleased to see the amazing things that this community built using Snap Kit!

Product Hunt [has announced the winners](https://blog.producthunt.com/and-the-award-goes-to-376e9abf9dae) for this Snap-themed online hackathon. Check it out below!

 

__Maker-In-Chief Grand Prize__
- Winner: Adventure by Daniel Noskin
- Runner-Up: Meme Match by Jacob Catalano

__Category Prize: User Experience__
- Winner: BRB by Justin Mitchell
- Runner-Up: StadiumLive by Kevin D.H. Kim

__Category Prize: Bitmoji__
- Winner: Surfboard by Vicc Alexander

__Category Prize: Anything Else__
- Winner: Wavechat by Dennis Stücken

 

We were thrilled with the creativity of the developers participating in the Makers Festival, and we want to thank each and every one of you for building with us. Thank you to the amazing community at Product Hunt, to the Product Hunt staff, and to Snap Kit developers everywhere!

Happy building, everyone!

News

Extending Creative Kit into Spotlight!

Five Ways that Smart Apps Lower CAC

Learn how to get started with Creative Kit & Dynamic Lenses

The New Snap Kit Developer Portal

Announcing Category Winners for the 2020 Snap Kit Developer Challenge

Introducing the 2020 Snap Kit Developer Challenge

Login Kit: Verify Only

Introducing Verify With Snapchat

Snap Kit SDK 1.4

Announcing the Winners of the Product Hunt Makers Festival

Snap Kit

Snap Inc.

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