Users could soon be able to share a whole new type of selfie on Shots.
Mashable has learned that the Justin Bieber-backed app is considering features that would allow users to add animations to their selfies. They would come thanks to a partnership with another social app, PingTank, which specializes in custom animations for social media posts and is currently in the midst of talks with Shots, according to sources close to both companies.
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PingTank's integration with Shots would be similar to its initial partnership with Facebook, according to a source familiar with PingTank's plans. The update could add a PingTank button inside Shots, enabling users to add animations to their selfies.
Shots, created by brothers John and Sammy Shahidi, is known as much for its massively popular selfies as its A-list investors and users. For example, Justin Bieber and boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr.'s unlikely friendship has its roots in the app.
Partnering with PingTank may seem like an improbable move for Shots, as the Bieber-backed company has committed to keeping its user experience "real and authentic" by eschewing many conventions typical of other photo-sharing apps, such as filters and comments. But adding animations -- PingTank's set includes everything from moving emoji to celebrity-specific overlays -- could increase user engagement with the app, particularly if it capitalizes on areas likely to appeal to Shots' teenage fanbase (Justin Bieber animations, anyone?).
Really cool @cocacola animation. I don't know about you but I feel like a Coke right now A video posted by Jeremy Greene (@pingtankapp) on Jun 3, 2015 at 7:12am PDT
PingTank launched its first app earlier this year as one of the initial third-party apps to work within Facebook Messenger. Since then, it has attracted more than 400,000 users, thanks in part to endorsements from celebrities like singer Melanie Brown (also a PingTank investor) and Vine star Nash Grier. The company has also made headlines for its unconventional marketing tactics, such as throwing a massive party in the Hollywood Hills that ended up being an elaborate prank involving Kylie Jenner and Tyga.
"My real vision for PingTank is to become the monopoly of all the apps," PingTank CEO Jeremy Greene told Mashable in a previous interview. "[When] we become the content provider for everything in the moving emoticon space for all social media. That's the end goal."
A lofty goal, to be sure, but tapping Shots' 5 million users is certainly not a bad place to start.
UPDATE, June 5, 2015, 6:25 p.m PT: Shots CEO John Shahidi told Mashable there was a conversation between the two companies but that there is no set timeframe for a potential update.
Disclosure: Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore is an investor in Shots.