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  2. AIHot
  3. US mid-termsHeating up
Newsbrief

Snapchat passes 30 million paid subscribers

Published

Long data centre corridor lined with empty server racks, lit in cool blue.

Snapchat now has 30 million paying subscribers. The milestone comes a year after the app limited free storage for its Memories feature and began asking users to pay to keep their saved Memories.

Users who want more Memories storage can pay $1.99 per month. They can also subscribe to Snapchat+ to keep their Memories.

The company limited free storage for Memories about a year ago. The change pushed many users toward paid plans.

Key facts

Who
Snapchat (social media app whose paid subscriber count reached 30 million)
What
Snapchat has reached 30 million paid subscribers, a milestone the description says comes a year after the company limited free storage for its Memories feature and began requiring payment for additional storage or Snapchat+ to keep Memories.
When
4 November 2026
Status
Reported

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Counting is under way in the local elections, and Tshwane mayoral candidates expect another hung council, with the DA, ActionSA and Eco Forums each setting conditions for partners. After polls closed on Wednesday night, the Electoral Commission said over 5% of votes were counted, with the ANC on 19 seats and the DA on seven.

The ANC won the first declared council, Renosterberg in the Northern Cape, where it took 6 seats. Earlier, about 12 million voters had cast ballots by 5pm, a turnout of 44% before special votes, and results are expected through Thursday and Friday.

Disputes continue: the Commission set aside ballot boxes at two Matsulu stations after tampering claims, and the EFF plans a criminal case over special votes in the Eastern Cape.

  1. ANC leads early count in local elections, DA close behind
  2. ANC leads early local election results in Eastern Cape
  3. IEC handles more than 800 party complaints as counting continues

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AI Hot

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Only 4 people booked Uber rides through an AI agent
  2. Nothing plans to launch AI-first device next month
  3. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations

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US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

President Donald Trump said on 5 November the Iran war was needed to stop Tehran getting a nuclear weapon, and he admitted it contributed to Republican losses. Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the 3 November midterm elections, according to media projections, and exit polls showed voters angry about high prices.

The Senate majority came after upsets in Texas and Kansas, and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's seat to become the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, while Scope Ratings said the result supports its AA rating on the US.

Iran welcomed the result, President Cyril Ramaphosa said it would bring a new era in world relations, and some leaders warned of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Trump says Iran war was worth it despite election losses
  2. Scope Ratings calls Democratic midterm sweep positive for US credit
  3. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections

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