Santa Monica, California - Snapchat is bringing its calling and messaging features to the web for the first time, allowing users to communicate outside of the app.

Snapchat for Web is first being made available to users of the firm's Snapchat+ subscription service in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, but will be rolled out to all users "soon."

Users will be able to access the platform by going to web.snapchat.com and logging in with their Snapchat details.

The social media giant said all its major messaging features will be available on the new web app, with Lenses for video calls also being added soon.

The company confirmed that users will additionally be able to send Snaps from the web app.

"With so many in our community spending more time online, whether it is for remote learning or working, streaming or just plain browsing – we saw a huge opportunity to make it easier for our community to stay connected throughout their day and we cannot wait to bring our favorite fundamental Snapchat capabilities to the web," Snapchat said.

The company said the web version of the platform also included a privacy screen that would hide the Snapchat window – and a user's conversations – if they click away for another task, as part of its safety measures.