The platform is reportedly following Facebook’s lead in charging brands for eyeballs

It was inevitable that Snapchat, the fastest-growing social media platform, would eventually start charging brands for the privilege of marketing on the network.

And Digiday is reporting that that day is here. Sources have informed the site that the red-hot network is developing an algorithm that will “act as a gatekeeper between publishers and brands and their audiences.”

Snapchat users currently see their messages in chronological order, but with the new algorithm, “Snapchat would act as curator of content from publishers and, especially, brands,” according to Digiday.

It’s expected that the social site will take a page out of the Facebook playbook by cultivating a platform where sharing content is free, but if you want to be seen by all of your followers, you’ll need to throw some cash behind your posts. 

“It’s unclear when it would implement the changes,” reports Digiday. “But publishing sources said Snapchat has been discussing an algorithm that would affect professional accounts since the beginning of the year.”

Snapchat reports that its audience numbers more than 100 million daily users, most of whom range in age from 13 to 34. 

TubeFilter reports that it’s “unclear what kind of impact any of these changes would have on Snapchat’s Discover page, where content created by a select group of publishers such as Comedy Central, The Wall Street Journal, and Refinery29 is offered up daily.” The site also added that hysteria over algorithm changes is often overblown and “subsides quickly.”

Emili Vesilind

JCK Senior Editor