The new Snapchat update is so bad, it’s affecting the value of the company

By Jessicabooth

February 20, 2018

By Jessicabooth

February 20, 2018

In the beginning of September, Snapchat released a major update that changed the entire look and feel of the app. Big updates to popular apps are almost never received very well by users in the beginning, but the reaction to this one seemed even more severe than usual. Users took to Twitter in a fit of rage, many shared petitions that begged the company to reverse the update, and even celebrities got involved in the negative backlash. In fact, the new Snapchat update is so bad that it’s affecting the value of the entire company. Yikes.

The strong response from Snapchat users has made its way to Wall Street.

On February 20th, stock market analysis group Citi Research became the second organization of its kind to downgrade Snap Inc.’s stock rating. Citi Research downgraded Snap to “sell,” which is not great. According to Inter Trader, this means Snap’s stock “is no longer considered to be a viable investment opportunity in the short, medium or long term.”

Back in January, financial services firm Raymond Jones had similarly downgraded the stock to “underperform,” which means that the stock is expected to do slightly worse than it has been.

it’s crazy how i cut my snapchat usage like 80% since the update

— 🍜 (@psaucy_) February 20, 2018

One of the biggest reasons for the downgrade from Citi Research is the user response to the latest update.

Yep, it’s true: Your angry cries have been heard!

The online petition against the update has so far collected over 1.2 million signatures, which is definitely not good for the company.

According to Business Insider, analysts Mark May and Hao Yan wrote, “While the recent redesign of [Snap’s] flagship app could produce positive long-term benefits, [there is a] significant jump in negative app reviews since the redesign was pushed out a few weeks, which could result in a decline in users and user engagement, and could negatively impact financial results.”

This isn’t the only place where the app seems to be failing. On the Apple App Store, you’ll notice that ratings have gone down to 2.3 out of five stars, with lots of negative reviews. According to App Annie statistics, the App Store rating has sunk in six out of seven ranking categories. On Android, it dropped in 11 ranking categories.

Will this make the company reverse the update? Probably not — CEO Evan Spiegal has basically said that the update is here to stay, noting recently, “It’ll take time for people to adjust, but for me using it for a couple months I feel way more attached to the service.”

Meanwhile, fans are still unhappy with the update, and Twitter is still full of complaints: