Video messaging application Snapchat is closing down its popular lens store after opening it just two months ago, a representative from Snapchat said in a company blog post that it needs to focus on its advertising business.
Lenses was Snapchat’s first foray into in-app purchases, a Lens is is an overlay animations on a user’s photo or video. A popular Lens was a rainbow that pours out of your mouth like vomit (see below).
The Lens store was available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and a few other European countries. The company said its users were adding Lenses in about 10 million snaps a day.
Snapchat also sells Sponsored Lenses to advertisers, which allow users to use certain limited-time Lenses for free. Beats by Dre released a Lens to promote its headphones (below).
Despite closing the Lens Store, Snapchat will continue to sell Sponsored Lenses to brands