GettySnapchat is still one of the most used social media platforms to date, with an estimated 158 million people using the app every day.
Its user base is seriously unhappy though, after the new update has made some features incredibly difficult to access, judging by reaction online.
The new update has certainly caused a bit of backlash on social media, with some users even calling for a complete boycott of the image sharing platform.
GettyThe update has given the Friends, Discover and Stories sections of the app a complete ‘make-over’, but users are reporting less functionality, and are petitioning for the update to be rolled back.
In fact, people are so angry that someone has set up a change.org petition to remove the update, which has 96,000 signatures at the time of writing.
The petition reads:
With the release of the new Snapchat update, many users have found that it has not made the app easier to use, but has in fact made many features more difficult. There is a general level of annoyance among users and many have decided to use a VPN app 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. This petition aims to help convince Snap Inc. to change the app back to the basics, before this new 2018 update.
this update is making me not want to get on Snapchat anymore
— Grace Smith (@gracedianesmith) February 9, 2018
this snapchat update is the worst thing to happen since U2’s album was downloaded to everyone’s phone
— marcus (@Halfricann__) February 9, 2018
Apparently, Snapchat knew the redesigned app would ruffle some feathers, but decided to go ahead with the update anyway, and are not excepted to bow to the pressure of the petition.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the company said:
Updates as big as this one can take a little getting used to, but we hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in.
In the new update, interactions with friends are grouped on the page to the left of the camera screen, while Stories from publishers are grouped to the right.
I’ve never had an app give me an actual headache until this Snapchat update ??
— SOLOMON TAIWO (@ImSolomonTaiwoJ) February 9, 2018
I need to know who confirmed this Snapchat update and thought it would be a good idea?
— Jayde Pierce (@JaydePierce) February 9, 2018
Now i see why ppl been raging lol this new Snapchat update is hella confusing
— Tim Scott (@__timscott__) February 9, 2018
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel wrote in an op-ed for Axios in November:
The personalised newsfeed revolutionised the way people share and consume content. But let’s be honest: this came at a huge cost to facts, our minds and the entire media industry.
This is a challenging problem to solve because the obvious benefits that have driven the growth of social media – more friends! More likes! More free content! – are also the things that will undermine it in the long run.
Despite this justification, users are out for blood with the new update, and have even started creating (almost certainly fake) social media campaigns to get the social media giants to repeal the changes.
A Twitter user screenshoted a photo of an alleged conversation he had with the person in charge of Snapchat’s Twitter account, asking how many retweets Snapchat wanted before they rolled back the update.
The Snapchat update sucks. RT to save a life! pic.twitter.com/5JHLeNmtDW
— Isaac Svobodny (@isaacsvobodny) February 9, 2018
Snapchat apparently replied:
Though we have been receiving many complaints on the new layout, we understand that it just may take some getting used to. If it appears to be a general consensus that people want the old format back, we will take that into consideration.
As far as retweets go, how does 50,000 sound?
If you’re a believer in these kinds of campaigns then go and RT to your heart’s content, but if not, head to the change.org petition.
Or, just get used to the update, it will be less painful when they don’t change anything that way.
