In February, Snapchat released an update that significantly changed the app’s design and navigation.
Before the app was updated, user “snaps,” direct video and photo messages, were located on the “Friends” page and “stories,” videos and photos visible to a user’s friends on the app, could be found on the “Discover” page. Now, stories are located on the “Friends” page alongside snaps. For some, the app updated automatically, whereas others updated the application themselves.
Snapchat’s update received criticism from users, even from its more famous users such as reality star Kylie Jenner. After Jenner tweeted her criticism, SNAP’s stocks plunged with a loss of around $1.3 billion in market value, according to CNN.
Junior Taryn Foster is one of many who preferred Snapchat before the update.
“There are just things about (Snapchat) that make it difficult and inconvenient to use,” Foster said. “I’m not a fan of stories and snaps being on the same page; it makes it inconvenient if you just want to see stories.”
Foster said that she has recently gotten used to the update, but still finds it challenging to navigate the app.
“On the ‘Discover’ page, I want to look for a specific story, and many times I cannot find it,” Foster said. “I often forget where something is.”
Shortly after the update was released, Snapchat user Nic Rumsey started a Change.org petition asking the app to return to its previous design. Rumsey’s petition received over a million signatures. In response, Snapchat released a statement on Change.org which stated the update will remain in an effort to allow users to connect with other users more easily.
“I don’t understand why Snapchat chose this for their new update, but they changed it for a reason,” junior Emily Parker said. “It would be a lot of work to regress back at this point.”
In a statement on Change.org, Snapchat said they would introduce tabs in the “Friends” and “Discover” pages in order to improve navigational challenges users felt came from the update. Parker said that she would like another update from Snapchat, but one that returns the app to format before the most recent update.
