Snap launches paid version of Snapchat app

• Snap launches paid version in US priced at $3.99 a month.
• Social media firms under pressure as companies cut back on ad budgets.
• Features in paid version include ability to see who re-watched a story.

Snap on Wednesday launched a paid version of the Snapchat app in the US, priced at $3.99 a month, and a few other markets, in a major step away from a revenue model dependent mostly on advertising.

Snap, which had teased the subscription version, Snapchat+, earlier this month, said it would be available in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates at launch.

Social media firms are under pressure as companies cut back on ad budgets in response to rising costs and weakening consumer spending.

Last month, Snap said it would miss revenue and profit targets for the second quarter and would have to slow hiring and lower spending, sending its shares down over 40% in a single day.

Initial features in the paid version include the ability to change the app's icon, see who re-watched a story and pin other users on chat history as a "BFF", Snap's senior vice president of product, Jacob Andreou, told tech news site The Verge.