While competitors like Meta are fighting lengthy battles in court, Snapchat is taking a victory lap after surpassing 900 million monthly active users.
“As Snapchat has grown over the years, we've seen this idea continue to resonate with our community – and we love seeing all the silly, fun and imperfect moments Snapchatters share with each other,” read a news release from the company on Tuesday celebrating the milestone.
“Thank you to the global Snapchat community for being part of this journey with us. Happy Snapping!”
The company also announced that its first quarter revenue increased 14 per cent year-over-year to $1,363 million, with daily active users increasing 9 percent to approximately 460 million.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel said that momentum was driven in part by progress made with direct-response advertising solutions as well as growth of the company's Snapchat+ subscription business.
The company warned, however, that "macroeconomic uncertainty" and "geopolitical events" could impact progress in the quarters ahead.
California-based Snapchat, which now simply goes by Snap, was founded in 2011 by three Stanford University students. Originally called Picaboo, the idea behind the platform was the antithesis of everything social media seemed to stand for at the time: content produced by those who used the app would disappear rather than being permanent.
That difference, the emphasis on social media content with an expiration date, proved appealing. It grew by leaps and bounds, and in 2013, Facebook, the entrenched social media leader at that point, took notice. Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg attempted to purchase Snapchat, but the platform opted against being acquired.
Several years later, however, Meta’s Instagram platform rolled out a feature called Stories, which showed temporary content from users for 24 hours. The similarities between the two caused bad blood between Snap and Meta. Meta’s attempted purchase of Snap has come full circle as the company is currently fighting an antitrust suit.
“I think if we would have bought them, we would have accelerated their growth, but that’s just speculation,” Mr Zuckerberg said on the witness stand in Washington when asked about Snapchat as Federal Trade Commission lawyers tried to show a pattern of Meta trying to buy competitors, rather than innovate.
Although Snap’s 900 million monthly active users is nothing to scoff at, it pales in comparison to Facebook’s estimated three billion active users, as well as TikTok’s more than one billion users. Yet analysts point out that Snap’s user base has limited churn and has proved incredibly loyal over the years.
In a 2024 interview with The National, Hussein Freijeh, vice president and general manager for Snap’s Middle East and North Africa office, said that active users in the region check the platform about 45 times per day. Mr Freijeh also said that Snap is particularly popular throughout the Middle East as the region goes “through a massive social and economic transformation”.
“Within that transformation, we're seeing the GCC community is really protective of the sense of community, and their relationships with their friends and family,” he said during an interview with The National's Business Extra podcast at Snap's Dubai office.
A 2022 social media report from by University of Oregon professors Damian Radcliffe and Hadil Abuhmaid also highlighted Snap’s appeal in the region. “Snapchat’s community in the Mena region continues to grow and the Middle East remains a major market for the app,” read part of the report.
Snap was also an early adopter of augmented reality (AR) to enhance the platform, offering filters to enhance user creativity. Those successful implementations of AR have also proven to be appealing to brands seeking to advertise to younger audiences on the platform. Both TikTok and Instagram have followed in Snap’s path in adopting AR features.
The%20specs
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Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
MATCH RESULT
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Jazira: Mabkhout (52'), Romarinho (77'), Al Hammadi (90' 6)
Persepolis: Alipour (42'), Mensha (84')
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
