Snapchat is a social media platform that remains a mystery to most people over the age of 35. And yet in these days of rapid app updates and live testing, it's somehow already been around for long enough to have had not one but two redesign scandals.
If you missed it, the first was back in 2018. On that occasion, a complete overhaul of the app's UI caused over a million users to sign a Change.org petition demanding that Snap Inc put things back the way they were. It will grow on you, the company insisted back then... and usage fell for the first time since the company's launch in 2013.
This time, it seems Snap's more keen to listen to feedback. After testing a new stripped-down UI, it's decided against the redesign after noting the displeasure of existing users. And the feedback is interesting: more minimalist UI isn't always welcome (see our pick of the best UI design tools if you're starting in the field yourself).
Snapchat 3 Tabs New Interface of Home Section | Snapchat New UPDATE 2025 - YouTube
The Snapchat redesign replaced the previous five-tab layout with just three tabs: Stories, Camera, and the TikTok-like Spotlight video section. The more minimalist layout meant sacrificing the popular Snap Map and private chat tabs, leaving some users confused or just generally pissed off.
"I absolutely hate the new update and have hated them since Spotlight was added 😭😭 this is just so they can push Spotlight more," one person exclaimed on Reddit. "I want the old one back. You get so many random peoples stories mixed with your friends," was another comment. Some people thought it was a glitch and took to Reddit to ask how to fix it.
At first glance, the move doesn't seem to have hurt numbers. The first quarter of the year saw global daily active users reach 460 million. But looking at specific geographies reveals that the core North American market lost a million active users.
In its first-quarter investor letter, Snap says the change went down well with new users, but that it's decided to revert back to the five-tab layout and restore the Snap Map and Chat sections due to the negative response from existing users – although it says (warns) that it will continuing to look at how to improve usability by combining "the best of both approaches".
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"We found that elements like a more prominent Spotlight experience and Friend Stories within the chat experience contributed to increases in daily content viewers and total content views—particularly among more casual users. Our most engaged Snapchatters consistently demonstrated a preference for a five-tab layout, favoring the familiarity of tile-based content discovery and a dedicated Map tab," the report states.
Simplicity is usually a good thing in UI design, making navigation quicker and easier. Compare with Facebook, which has sprawled into a labyrinth of different components that feel like they were all designed by different people (probably because they were), and that's before you even get to Business Suite and Adverts Manager. some Instagram users complain that the same thing is starting to happen there.
But the response to Snapchat's testing shows users don't always appreciate the simplest design. Minimalism can also confuse if it takes away features that users liked or buries things away in a menu that people have to click through to find what they're looking for. And as we saw with a recent Spotify UI change, even relatively small tweaks to an app's layout can infuriate regular users.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
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