Snapchat relents on software changes

Snapchat got some of its old look back on Friday in an update to a major redesign that riled users and caused growth to stumble.

Software changes to the Snapchat application for Apple mobile devices put “Snaps” and “Chats” back in reverse chronological order and move Stories from friends back to the right side of the app.

Snapchat also added a subscriptions feed devoted to content from celebrities, publishers and other professional sources.

The modifications undo some changes made when parent company Snap overhauled the app late in 2017 in the name of broadening the appeal of the youth-oriented social network.

“We are now focused on optimising the redesign based on our experimentation and learning,” Snap co-founder and CE Evan Spiegel said last week.

Users had complained about the abrupt overhaul of the service. An online petition calling on Snap to undo the overhaul had more than 1.2-million signatures as of Friday.

“Many users have found that it has not made the app easier to use, but has in fact made many features more difficult,” the petition on change.org states.

The update separated “media content” from that of friends, a move aimed at avoiding problems faced by social media rivals Facebook and Twitter over the proliferation of misinformation.

But a flurry of Twitter comments took issue with the move by Snapchat, which became a favourite of teens, but also offers content from various media partners.