If you hate the new Snapchat update redesign, we’ve got some bad news
Snapchat has responded to the Change.org petition demanding it reverse its controversial redesign, and its statement won't please unhappy users
SNAPCHAT has shared its official response to the users who signed a petition demanding it roll back its redesign, which they claim makes the app trickier to use.
"We hear you," said Snapchat. Adding: "We completely understand the new Snapchat has felt uncomfortable for many."
In response, the company pledges to add tabs to the app's Friends and Discover sections that will "make it easier" to find the stories you want.
The update arrived on iOS yesterday, bringing with it GIF support (powered by leading GIF platform GIPHY). It will land on Android in the coming weeks.
The changes essentially let you view friends with active stories in one tab and manage your Discover subscriptions (Snapchat's take on magazines, made by popular media outlets) in the other.
But, the more than 1.2 million users who've signed the – at the time of writing – urging Snapchat to scrap its redesign, are in for a bummer.
Snapchat to do anything of the sort.
Instead, it's still proclaiming the controversial update's benefits: "By putting everything from your friends in one place, our goal was to make it easier to connect with the people you care about most," said the company in its response.
Referring to the algorithms it's employing to personalize the app to each user, it said: "The new Friends page will adapt to you and get smarter over time, reflecting who you’re most likely to be Snapping with at that moment.
"This same personalization is also true of the new Discover, which will adapt to you the more that you use it."
Instagram, an app that infamously pinched Snapchat's stories feature, was similarly dragged by its users when it swapped its chronological feed for an algorithm-driven one in 2016.
As tends to be the case when people are miffed, users took to social media to voice their outrage, with popular Instagrammers (known as "influencers"), celebs, and brands instructing users to turn on notifications for their respective posts, in case they should get lost in the new feed.
A petition was even started, which went on to grab over 340,00 signatures.
Most read in tech
Viewed through the lens of history, this latest Snapchat controversy seems like a case of déjà vu.
Back in 2016, Instagram stuck to its guns, and it seems Snapchat is hell-bent on doing the same.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.