Snapchat is a popular app for chatting with friends and watching bad reality shows  — and it can also make users free money with its Spotlight Challenges feature. Watching Snapchat's evolution over the years has been nothing short of fascinating. When the application debuted in July 2011, it was initially nothing more than a way to send disappearing photos to friends. Today, it's so much more than that.

So, what is the Snapchat experience in 2021? While users can still send disappearing photos as much as they'd like, that's no longer the only draw to Snapchat. It's now a place for having group DM chats, play with fun AR filters, learn American Sign Language, watch TV, etc. In November 2020, Snapchat even added its own TikTok competitor with a feature called Snapchat Spotlight — allowing users to create videos and share them with the entire Snapchat community to see.

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Spotlight is a great way to kill some time by watching short-form videos, but did you know it can also be used to make money? In October 2021, Snapchat announced the launch of Spotlight Challenges. As Snap explains in its blog post, "Spotlight Challenges will offer Snapchatters the chance to win cash prizes for creating top-performing Spotlight Snaps using specific Lenses, Sounds, or #Topics." Users aren't forced to participate in Spotlight Challenges if they don't want to, but the option is there if anyone wants to take their creative skills to the next level. Find a challenge, opt into it, and Snapchat may just pay you a decent amount of cash.

How Snapchat Spotlight Challenges Work

Snapchat multiple Snaps

Getting started with Spotlight Challenges is easy enough. Once it rolls out to users in November, joining a challenge is as easy as opening the Trending page and finding the 'Challenges' section at the top of the screen. Tapping on a challenge shows all of the entered videos, along with a 'Challenge Details' button that reveals key information about the challenge — including its rules, deadline, and prize money. If someone thinks they have what it takes to enter, they can tap the 'Create' button to start creating a video and enter the Spotlight Challenge for themselves.

Prize money varies from challenge to challenge, but anyone who wins is in for a worthwhile award. Total prize money ranges from $1,000 up to $25,000 depending on the challenge, with Snap saying it may "occasionally" have even larger amounts available. Additionally, there isn't just one winner who gets the total prize pool. As an example, a $10,000 challenge could see 1st Prize earning $6,000, 2nd Prize would get $3,000, and 3rd Prize would earn the remaining $1,000. Snap says users will earn at least $250 for entering and winning a Spotlight Challenge at the bare minimum. Once all eligible videos have been entered, Snap looks a the top 50 "eligible, relevant, and highest viewed submissions." These are then judged a few different items, including "Creativity & Originality, Innovative use of Snap Creative Tools, Unique POV, and Entertainment Value." Most Spotlight Challenges will feature between 3 and 5 winners, though there may be more or less depending on the specific challenge.

There are just a few final details to keep in mind. When Spotlight Challenges launch in November 2021, they'll initially be limited to Snapchat users that are 16 years or older in the United States. Challenges will eventually come to other markets outside of the U.S., but Snap has yet to reveal specific expansion plans. Ultimately, this is a fun addition to Spotlight. Snapchat has a long way to go before Spotlight is a formidable TikTok competitor, but considering how tempting free money is, this could be a great way to draw more users into it.

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Source: Snap