It’s been an interesting week for Snap, Inc.
The parent company of social media platform Snapchat saw a strong earnings report this week as stocks soared 28%, beating expectations and exceeding their initial IPO price. Though the company still isn’t in the black just yet, the new report shows some progress for the company, which struggled to keep up after going public in 2017.
Part of Snap’s efforts to reinvigorate the app included the roll-out an all new redesign. As Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in late 2017, the new layout aims to “separate the social from the media,” by providing more clear separation between discovery feeds and posts from user connections. This move was intended to create a more tailored experience for audiences, with an emphasis on delivering content that may be more relevant to users.
The change, however, is receiving some backlash. Users have taken to Twitter to criticize the update, claiming the change makes the app more difficult to use.
I need to know who confirmed this Snapchat update and thought it would be a good idea?
— Jayde Pierce (@JaydePierce) February 9, 2018
I’m not happy with this new @Snapchat update… I have to search for @chrissyteigen instead of her being right there when I open up the app ? All I want is to watch her make food & talk to her like she can hear me. It’s like i’ve lost a friend.
— Courtney Coffman (@CDH32789) February 9, 2018
This snapchat update is the worst thing that has happened since apple forcibly downloaded that one U2 album to everyone’s phone
— Niq (@RealNickHolden) February 9, 2018
In the U.K., the divisive update sparked a rally of Change.org petitions demanding the social media platform allow users to uninstall or ‘reverse’ the update.
According to a previous tweet from the Snapchat Support handle, it doesn’t look like a reversal is possible.
It’s not possible to revert to a previous version of Snapchat, but we are happy to help with any questions you may have about the
new layout.— Snapchat Support (@snapchatsupport) January 11, 2018
Snapchat’s own twitter handle is focusing on retweeting positive feedback they’ve received, touting their enhanced Bitmoji features
look u can do ombré w ur bitmoji now yeeeHAWWWW pic.twitter.com/qqU6K5kh4B
— ? (@strangerstyle) February 6, 2018
The brand has also been responsive to negative reviews and urging disgruntled users to “give it a chance.”
Sorry you feel that way ? Give it a chance – it may take some getting used to, but we think it’s a much better experience.
— Snapchat Support (@snapchatsupport) February 8, 2018
Twitter also saw their stock price jump, and reported net profit this month — a first for the brand.
