US tech firm Snap on Wednesday launched a subscription version of Snapchat as it looks to generate more money from the image-centric, ephemeral messaging app.

Snapchat+ is priced at $4 a month and will provide access to exclusive features, the California-based company said in a blog post. It said that these would include priority tech support and early access to experimental features.

The subscription version of the service is making its debut in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, Snap said.

Snap in February reported its first quarterly profit, but two months later warned that it saw the economic outlook as having darkened considerably.

A new Snapchat+ subscription version of the ephemeral messaging app is priced at $4 monthly.
A new Snapchat+ subscription version of the ephemeral messaging app is priced at $4 monthly. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP / JUSTIN SULLIVAN

The company said that more than 332 million people around the world use Snapchat daily.

"This subscription will allow us to deliver new Snapchat features to some of the most passionate members of our community," Snap said in the blog post.