Snapchat Ditches Controversial Redesign Update
Last updated July 13, 2021
- A massive Snapchat update introducing multiple changes to the design of the app was introduced in February which led to massive outrage from its users.
- The update was considered to be unintuitive by a large section of the userbase.
- Over a million users signed a petition to revert the Snapchat changes.
A Snapchat update that released in February is finally being reverted after over a million requests were filed to remove the update. The update grouped chats and stories, which made the app unintuitive to use. The latest update will split the Friends and Stories section into separate feeds.
The new update will allow users to directly head to the camera when starting the app. The conversations with friends will be available in separate sections. In the February update, Snapchat also removed the option to view conversations chronologically. Instead, users were at the mercy of Snapchat’s algorithm which decided which conversations were more relevant to the user.
Image Courtesy of Mashable
The change was announced by CEO Evan Spiegel during the first quarter earnings call at the start of the month. He reassured the audience that Snapchat is a brand that listens to its users and is dedicated to bringing what the audience wants.
User growth was reported to have slowed down at the earnings call by the CEO, and it is likely the February update for the app had its impact on the growth rate. People expressed their disapproval from day one of the update releases. Over 83% of the reviews after the update was released have been negative, and hopefully, things will improve for the app with the changes being reverted.
All of your Stories will now be present in two feeds named “Friends” (or “Subscriptions” if you have a publisher account) and “For You.” The Friends feed posts for people you follow and the “For You” section includes Snapchat’s curated content that you may be interested in watching. The update is already rolling out to iOS. There has been no news about the Android update so far, but it should appear in a few weeks.
