750K+ people sign Change.org petition calling for Snapchat redesign to be reverted as celebs including Chrissy Teigen, Kylie Jenner, MKBHD criticize update
Snapchat recently shipped … Tyler Lee / Ubergizmo : Snapchat Users Are Petitioning To Revert To The Old Design Ali Breland / The Hill : Snapchat users push back on controversial redesign Arden Dier / Newser : Snapchat Users Blast Update ‘Worse Than Plague’ Peter Cao / 9to5Mac : Snapchat redesign causes uproar as users call on Snap to revert to the old design Maya Kosoff / Vanity Fair : An update widely loathed by its most loyal users could destroy … Change.org : Remove the new Snapchat update Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios : Snap to angry users: You're stuck with the new app Socialnomics : Snapchat Loses Favoritism Among Teens Kimberly Chin / Business Insider : Snap is rallying after a report reveals it may be ‘siphoning away’ more younger users from Facebook Raymond Wong / Mashable : How to switch back to the old version of Snapchat (before it sucked) Amber Jamieson / BuzzFeed : Here's How To Get Rid Of That New Snapchat Update Everyone Hates Todd Spangler / Variety : Snapchat Hopes User Backlash Over Redesign Blows Over James Laird / Trusted Reviews : Here's how to undo the hated Snapchat 2018 update on iPhone Kara Nesvig / Teen Vogue : Kylie Jenner Reacts to the Snapchat Update Laura Beck / Cosmopolitan : So, the Snapchat Redesign Is Not Going Over Super Well? Jasper Hamill / Metro.co.uk : ‘Make Snapchat Great Again’: Fans who want ‘un update’ to reverse software upgrade launch dozens of petitions Jessica Lindsay / Metro.co.uk : How to get old Snapchat back after the hugely unpopular update Shivali Best / mirror : Twitter reacts to Snapchat's new update in the UK - and they are NOT happy Alyssa Norwin / Hollywood Life : Kylie Jenner, Chrissy Teigen & Millions More Beg Snapchat To Delete Its Detested Redesign Mark Wycislik-Wilson / BetaNews : Hate the Snapchat redesign? Here's how to get back the old look Al Jazeera English : Snapchat update creates opportunity to fight Instagram Emily Price / Lifehacker : How to Revert the Snapchat App Back to the Pre-Redesign Version Chris Burns / SlashGear : Snapchat redesign is bad: How to go back Aatif Sulleyman / The Independent : SNAPCHAT UPDATE: HOW TO USE THE NEW, REDESIGNED VERSION OF THE APP Henry T. Casey / Tom's Guide : How to Get Old Snapchat Back (There's a Catch) Sam Gutelle / Tubefilter : Snapchat Stands Pat On Redesign Despite Receiving Significant Backlash Tweets: Kylie Jenner / @kyliejenner : Mm just saw the new Snapchat.. I don't know how i feel about it! What do you guys think? Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz : Snapchat teens are too young to remember what us Olds went through in 2008 when millions of FB users petitioned to Zuck to “Bring back the old Facebook” http://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... http://twitter.com/... Nina Harrelson / @ninaharrelsontv : For everyone complaining about the Snapchat update, here's how to change it back: • Back up your memories • Delete app • In settings, turn off automatic updates • Re-download app • When you type in your email, click “Forgot Password” • Reset your password • Log back in Ashley Mayer / @ashleymayer : It's truly inspiring to watch younger generations find their voice as activists. http://twitter.com/... Marques Brownlee / @mkbhd : Snapchat accidentally promoting my story about why I'm leaving Snapchat. You played yourself @Snap pic.twitter.com/nLXcT0PSow Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz : Snap has little margin for error. If you don't like it, you can use essentially the same product on Instagram. A bad user reaction, merited or not, could be potentially catastrophic. http://twitter.com/... Ben Bajarin / @benbajarin : Both my teenage girls and literally all their friends complain about the redesign. http://twitter.com/... Christine Teigen / @chrissyteigen : I'm seeing this same comment so often. I liked that you guys felt like we were friends. I'm sad it doesn't feel like that anymore. How many people have to hate an update for it to be reconsidered? https://twitter.com/... Snapchat Support / @snapchatsupport : Don't believe everything you read on the internet — unofficial workarounds to change the way Snapchat looks are temporary and can result in getting permanently locked out of your account or losing Memories For help with what's new, go to http://spr.ly/... Kailyn Lowry / @kaillowry : Who tf's idea was this Snapchat update? Ollie MN / @olliemckendrick : good to see the new snapchat update has addressed the issue of social media addiction by making itself completely unusable Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz : A fake tweet claiming Snapchat would revert back to its old design if it got enough retweets has become the 6th most retweeted tweet of all time https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... Marques Brownlee / @mkbhd : Instagram couldn't buy Snapchat, so they just copy as much of it as they possible can... ... but they're also just a better platform. The audience is already there. So I'm gonna leave Snapchat for Instagram stories... so it worked. Niceeee. Casey Neistat / @caseyneistat : HOW TO FIX SNAPCHAT UPDATE; delete the app, open instagram. Matthew Espinosa / @themattespinosa : Honestly not sure why I updated my Snapchat. Everyone was saying how bad it is, and midway through the update I tried to stop it but now my Snapchat is updated and I swear it's the worst update Snapchat has ever had lol what were they thinking.. Joe Santagato / @joesantagato : Snapchat update is garbage. Purp / @purpdrank : When you make sure to not update Snapchat cause everyone is talking about how trash it is, and then you open up the app and it automatically updated itself pic.twitter.com/Z3aJR260j1 Desus Nice / @desusnice : Snapchat better get this new aunt viv update outta here Jeana / @phillychic5 : Ummm @Snapchat please fix the update! It's sooo confusing and unorganized now! Separating messages from stories, and being able to view you're own individual snaps was sooo much better! RT if you agree and want it fixed!! #snapchat #snapchatupdate
Context & Ripple Effects
The backlash lands at the worst possible moment in Snap's arc: days after the company reported its strongest quarter yet — Q4 revenue up 72% to $285.7M with DAUs rising to 187M — it shipped a redesign its most loyal users immediately rejected. A week later the damage was priced in, when [[a:926947|Snap stock slid more than 6% after an analyst flagged the negative reaction and Kylie Jenner tweeted about using the app less]].
The celebrity revolt isn't new friction, either: reporting from early 2017 already documented how [[a:917005|Snap's hands-off approach to high-profile users had alienated them and boosted the appeal of Instagram and YouTube]]. What changed today is scale — 750,000-plus signatures on a Change.org petition — and Snap's answer, telling angry users they are stuck with the new app.
First-order effects
- Snap's most engaged users and celebrity promoters are publicly campaigning against the product, while Snapchat Support warns that unofficial workarounds to restore the old layout can trigger permanent account lockout or loss of Memories — turning a design complaint into a retention threat.
Second-order effects
- With Snap refusing to revert, alienated creators have one fewer reason to stay exclusive to Snapchat, deepening the drift toward Instagram and YouTube already visible in prior coverage; advertisers and analysts watching the stock slide now treat user sentiment as a direct input to Snap's valuation.
Third-order effects
- The pattern holds through the year: by Q2 2018 Snap posts its first daily-user decline since founding in 2011, partly attributed to the redesign — evidence that a consumer platform can force an interface change and pay for it in measurable churn, making redesign rollouts a board-level risk rather than a product-team decision.
The trend: Consumer platforms are learning that unilateral interface overhauls convert loyal users into measurable churn, forcing redesigns to be weighed against retention economics rather than shipped unilaterally.