Strong Feelings on the Snapchat Redesign: A Lot of Hate, A Little Love

By Sam Dixon | February 23, 2018

Snapchat users are not holding back on their opinions of the app’s new design.

More than 1.2 million people have signed a Change.org petition asking Snapchat to go “back to the basics” and return to the old design. They complain that the update makes the app more difficult and confusing to navigate:

There is a general level of annoyance among users and many have decided to use a VPN app, or are using other risky apps or steps, to go back to the old Snapchat as that’s how annoying this new update has become.

Many ‘new features’ are useless or defeats the original purposes Snapchat has had for the past years.

And it’s not just anonymous users who are upset. Celebrities are also voicing their frustration with the changes.

Chrissy Teigen retweeted a fan’s complaint, adding her own commentary: “How many people have to hate an update for it to be reconsidered?”

And after Kylie Jenner – one of Snapchat’s biggest influencers – tweeted her displeasure on Wednesday, Snap stock closed 6% down on Thursday, a $1.3 billion drop in the company’s market value: 

“Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad.”

Despite the backlash, Snapchat has decided to stick with its new design. The company released a response to the petition, defending its reasoning behind the changes, but promising to implement small tweaks to address complaints:

Beginning soon on iOS, and with Android in the coming weeks, we are introducing tabs in Friends and Discover, which will make it easier to find the Stories that you want, when you want them. Once you receive the update, you’ll be able to sort things like Stories, Group Chats, and Subscriptions, allowing you to further customize your own experience on the app. 

So what changes are Snapchat users so fired up about? And are there any benefits to the redesign?

The main gripe is that it’s harder to find the content you want on the app. Stories and incoming Snapchat conversations are all consolidated into one Friends page, but it’s difficult to distinguish between the two types of content. Snapchat doesn’t display Stories in chronological order but instead uses an algorithm to show you what it believes is most relevant to your interests.

It’s also a challenge to find Stories published by brands and influencers that you follow. Stories from verified accounts of news outlets, social media stars and other professional creators now appear in a revamped area of the Discover section. But if you’re looking for Stories from a particular influencer, you may have trouble navigating to what you want.

On the flip side, the Snapchat redesign has provided what content creators have wanted for years: detailed analytics tools. One of the biggest challenges for brands and influencers on Snapchat has been tracking the reach and impact of content. With this new update, the app offers insights to verified accounts and other users with large followings, including:

  • Total Story views in the past week, month and year to date
  • Time spent viewing Stories in minutes in the past week, month and year to date.
  • Daily unique Story viewers, average time unique viewers spent watching, and completion rates
  • Audience demographics
  • Audience interests

This is a significant development for brands and content creators using the app. It can only be beneficial to have more insight into who their followers are and what they do with Snapchat content.

The Snapchat redesign is still only a few months old. We’re waiting to see if the benefits of the new analytics tools will eventually overpower the rage against the new changes.

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