Snapchat’s New Topic Chats Turn Viral Moments Into Real-Time Public Conversations

Snapchat is quietly reshaping the way people talk about what’s trending on the platform, and the shift says a lot about how its users behave today. The app has always been built on private, friend-to-friend conversations — that’s the core of how people use Snapchat. But the company has noticed something interesting: more users are reacting publicly to viral moments, major events, and whatever the internet is arguing about on any given day.

Now, Snapchat is leaning into that behaviour with a fresh feature called Topic Chats, a dedicated space for public conversations around whatever everyone’s talking about.

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Rolling out over the next few weeks in the US, Canada and New Zealand, Topic Chats will quietly appear throughout the app—inside chat shortcuts, in the search bar, on the Stories page, and even on Spotlight videos. When you see a big yellow “Join the Chat” button, that’s your cue that a Topic Chat is live. One tap pulls you straight into a larger conversation and opens up Spotlight clips connected to that trend.

For people who don’t use the app heavily, think of Topic Chats as Snapchat’s version of joining a pop-up community discussion without the usual friction. You’re not adding people, and you’re not exposing your profile — you’re simply jumping into a chat about the moment everyone is reacting to. It could be a cricket highlight going wild, a meme that’s taken over the weekend, or the premiere of a reality show that’s dominating group chats.

Visually, Topic Chats behave just like your regular Snapchat chats. You can react, drop messages, and see Snaps created by others around the same theme. Snapchat will also highlight which of your friends are already inside a Topic Chat, helping you pick conversations that feel relevant rather than random. Any topic chat you join will automatically move to the top of your topic chats page, making it easy to dip back in later.

Safety remains a major design pillar. Snapchat says Topic Chats are meant to be a safe, lightweight way to join public conversations without opening the door to unwanted interactions. People who aren’t on your friends list can’t add you or message you directly, and Snapchat will moderate these shared spaces to keep them respectful and spam-free.

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Whether it’s Formula 1 drama, a Below Deck episode lighting up social feeds, or a late-night trend that goes viral for no reason at all, Topic Chats is Snapchat’s attempt to fuse the intimacy of private messaging with the energy of public conversation — giving users a new way to be part of whatever the world is reacting to in real time.