Skip to main content

Snapchat users watch 7 billion videos daily, a dramatic spike that sees it rival Facebook

snapchat seven billion video views women selfies user customers consumers marketing
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Snapchat can finally lay claim to rivaling fellow social network Facebook, at least in terms of video viewing figures.

The latest numbers being reported reveal that Snapchat users now watch 7 billion video clips every day. That’s 5 billion extra daily video views in less than a year, and a billion more than the figure reported in November 2015.

Recommended Videos

The spike sees the app inch closer to social media behemoth Facebook, which laid claim to 8 billion daily video views in November of last year. It’s a miraculous achievement when you consider that Facebook’s approximate user base of 1 billion members is roughly 10 times larger than Snapchat’s 100 million users. The latter, however, has the advantage of being built on visual media, and little else.

The milestone is rendered yet more impressive when comparing the ways the two services tally video views. Although Facebook attributes a view to any video that auto-plays in a user’s stream for more than three seconds, Snapchat requires its users to be more proactive by clicking to open a video.

Snapchat’s new record has been attributed in part to the visual messaging app’s Stories feature. The tool introduced in 2013 and expanded last year allows users to correlate video clips that are then available to others for a period of 24 hours.

Although Snapchat hasn’t officially confirmed the numbers, it will certainly be pleased with itself. Video views are reportedly seen as the holy grail for online services such as Google’s YouTube, and Facebook. As each company chases more advertising revenue, laying claim to blockbuster viewership numbers can act as an attractive bidding tool. With a recent report claiming that Snapchat is working on advertising technology to make it easier for brands to cater their ads toward its service, the news could not come at a better time for the platform.

Saqib Shah
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Saqib Shah is a Twitter addict and film fan with an obsessive interest in pop culture trends. In his spare time he can be…
I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened
An Instagram profile on an iPhone.

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.

Read more
Here’s how to delete your YouTube account on any device
How to delete your YouTube account

Wanting to get out of the YouTube business? If you want to delete your YouTube account, all you need to do is go to your YouTube Studio page, go to the Advanced Settings, and follow the section that will guide you to permanently delete your account. If you need help with these steps, or want to do so on a platform that isn't your computer, you can follow the steps below.

Note that the following steps will delete your YouTube channel, not your associated Google account.

Read more
How to download Instagram photos for free
Instagram app running on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Instagram is amazing, and many of us use it as a record of our lives — uploading the best bits of our trips, adventures, and notable moments. But sometimes you can lose the original files of those moments, leaving the Instagram copy as the only available one . While you may be happy to leave it up there, it's a lot more convenient to have another version of it downloaded onto your phone or computer. While downloading directly from Instagram can be tricky, there are ways around it. Here are a few easy ways to download Instagram photos.

Read more