Snapchat had its best year amid the pandemic

Snapchat had its best year in 2020, adding 31 million daily active users and increasing its stock price from roughly $16 in January to more than $52 today. It also avoided most of the drama and regulatory scrutiny that its competitors faced around things like content moderation, bias, and privacy.

The big picture: The pandemic accelerated underlying trends favorable to Snap.

• The app, which is designed to connect users with their closest friends, saw boosts in engagement while many teens and college students were forced to stay home from school.
• With stores closed and e-commerce surging, Snapchat's advertising efforts around augmented reality and e-commerce proved fruitful.
• Quarterly revenue last quarter was up 52% year-over-year to $679 million.

Meanwhile, other tech rivals like Facebook and Google were slapped with several new regulatory investigations. Axios' tech policy team ranks the 5 new lawsuits: Facebook stands to lose the most, but Google is more likely to lose.