Snapchat is offering prizes to complete challenges — let the games begin

One of the reasons for TikTok’s meteoric rise was people performing challenges on various themes. Now, Snapchat wants to replicate that success, and reward creators in the process as well.

The company announced a program called Spotlight Challenges for creators to participate and win money up to $25,000:

Snapchatters can win a share of the total prize amount available for each Spotlight Challenge, which will typically range from $1k to $25k, although occasionally we may make available a larger sum for a particular Challenge. The minimum prize that a Snapchatter can win in a Spotlight Challenge is $250 USD.

These challenges will be rolling out first to users older than 16 in the US. Creators will need to use specific sounds, hashtags, or lenses to be qualified for the competition.

Snapchat will show these challenges on the trending page, and you can tap on a challenge to check out details like eligibility criteria, submission deadlines, and prize money.

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The company said that for each challenge, it’ll take the top 50 relevant and most viewed clips for final judgment. Later, it’ll declare three to five winners based on “creativity & originality and innovative use of Snap Creative Tools.”

Snap’s idea is simple. Use more of our tools to win, and spend more time on the app rather than wandering off to TikTok. The ByteDance-owned app recently crossed the mark of 1 billion active users across the globe, and Snap would want to catch up to that.

The company will hopefully be able to come up with challenges that are fun and wholesome, and stave people off from harmful ones. However, if the competition gets nasty, creators can take toxic steps to gain more views, and the company will need to be aware of that.

Last month, a series of reports from the Wall Street Journal noted that Facebook ignored Instagram’s harmful impact on the mental health of teens. Snap wouldn’t want to be categorized in the same bracket.

You can get more details on the challenges program here.