Snap buys key patent to secure the future of its geofilters
By doing so, it's also securing its future.
Mobli, an Israeli company, patented the idea of adding filters to photos based on your location back in 2012, way before Snap started using them. Now TechCrunch says the ephemeral messaging app has purchased that patent for $7.7 million in order to make sure it won't ever have an issue offering geofilters to its users. They're some of its most popular offerings, after all, and were apparently responsible for $360 million of the $400 million revenue it posted last year. We're guessing $7.7 million was a small investment to make to secure the future of the company.
TC says Mobli was originally in talks with Facebook for the sale. Some sources said the social network was 100 percent interested in buying, others said Zuckerberg and company had no idea what Mobli is. Either way, there might have been trouble in Snapland if Facebook got the deal, considering how hard it's been trying to convert Snap's audience lately. Since the messaging app managed to snag the patent, you can rest assured your favorite geofilters won't go away.
