Snapchat comes to computers after more than a decade of mobile service

July 18 (UPI) -- Some Snapchat users can move their phone conversations to their computers as the service, which has been mobile-only for more than a decade, rolls out Snapchat for Web on Monday.

"With more than 100 million Snapchatters using our voice and video calling each month on average, we're excited to offer a new way for our community to keep conversations going on their computers, where they're already working, learning and browsing," a statement from Team Snap said.

For now, Snapchat for Web is only available to Snapchat+ subscribers in the United States, Britain, Canada, along with other users across Australia and New Zealand, according to a statement from the parent company, Snap, which plans to bring the new service to the entire global community soon.

Snapchat+, which offers "exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features in Snapchat for $3.99/month," rolled out late last month, a previous company statement shows.

The messaging app launched in 2011 by Stanford University students has become popular with young people with personalized cartoon avatars and pictures and messages disappearing after 24 hours. The move may appeal to users who have since grown up and are using computers to chat online.

The web version will focus on the messaging features as opposed to its Stories feature, which shows a collection of pictures and videos, but similar to the mobile app, messages will still vanish in 24 hours. Snap said it will bring more of the mobile features to the web over time.

Lenses, which use augmented reality to apply special effects to images and transform their appearance, will roll out soon on the web version, according to the company's statement.

To access the web or desktop version of Snapchat, users can "head to web.snapchat.com using Chrome to start a call or pick up where they left off on mobile," the company said in its statement.