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The new version of Snapchat is attracting fierce criticism from users, who are pleading with the company to reverse the changes.
The app has been completely redesigned, and fans say they’re struggling to find and use their favourite features, like Stories.
These have been moved to the new Friends page, where they sit alongside regular Snaps and messages. Here’s a breakdown of all the changes, and how to use the new version of Snapchat .
Feedback from Snapchat users on Twitter has been overwhelmingly negative.
The Snapchat Support Twitter account has been busy replying to complaints from users, some of whom are threatening to delete the app unless they can get the old version of Snapchat back.
Snapchat, meanwhile, is aware of the complaints, with a company spokesperson this week saying: “Updates as big as this one can take a little getting used to, but we hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in.”
The alterations have been designed to help Snapchat make money, and the company this week revealed strong fourth-quarter financial results.
The new version of Snapchat started reaching users around the turn of the year, but the company is now stepping up the rollout.
Show all 17 1 /17Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Find your friends When you swipe right on the main camera screen, you’ll come to the Friends page. This is where Stories, Snaps, messages and group chats are, but they’re no longer ordered chronologically. Instead, new Snaps and messages, and any new Stories that Snapchat thinks you’ll be interested in, will sit near top of the Friends page. If you’re struggling to find one of your friends, you can type their name into the search bar at the top of the screen. To make different types of content easier to find, Snapchat is adding three tabs to the Friends page – Stories, Groups and All.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Watch Stories If one of your friends has posted a Story you haven’t yet watched, you’ll see a circular preview bubble to the left of their name. To watch the Story, tap the bubble. After you watch a friend’s Story, you’ll see a preview of another friend’s Story. You can tap the screen to watch it, swipe to skip it or swipe down to exit. To re-watch a friend’s Story after you’ve already seen it, you need to open their profile by tapping their bitmoji on the Friends page.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Post Stories You can post your own Stories by taking a picture or recording a video on the main camera screen, then tapping the arrow in the bottom-right corner and selecting My Story. To check out your Story views and delete Snaps from your Story, you need to visit your Profile page. You can find it by going to the main camera page, hitting the profile picture immediately to the left of the Search bar at the top of the screen, and tapping the My Story panel.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Send Snaps To send a Snap, take a picture or record a video on the main camera screen, tap the arrow in the bottom-right corner and choose your friends from the list. The eight people you interact with most on Snapchat sit at the top of the list.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Discover content When you swipe left on the main camera screen, you’ll find the Discover page. Here’s where you can access Shows, content from publishers, Stories from people you follow – but aren’t friends with – and Snaps from creators, Snap Map and Our Story. To find something specific in Discover, use the Search bar at the top of the screen. To see less of a certain type of content here, you can tap and hold a tile and hit See Less Like This or Unsubscribe.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Mute friends You can mute your friends without them realising, with Do Not Disturb. To enable it, just tap and hold the person or group you want to silence, select Settings from the popup menu and hit Do Not Disturb. You’ll no longer receive notifications from that conversation, but you’ll still be able to access it, check any unread messages and Snaps and send your own too.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Shoot longer Snaps You can record up to 60 seconds of Snapchat footage with Multi-Snap (the previous limit was 10 seconds). All you need to do is tap and hold the circular Record button, and keep holding it for up to 60 seconds. Snapchat will split the footage into 10-second segments that you can edit individually, though your recording will play continuously when you send it to your friends or add it to your Story.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Draw with emoji You can draw with emoji rather than regular digital brushstrokes by tapping the pen icon after you’ve shot a snap and then hitting the symbol under the colour palette.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Build Geofilters You can create your own Geofilters, for occasions like weddings and birthdays, or even for places that are special to you. Go to Settings, hit On-Demand Geofilters and choose when and where you’d like it to appear.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Use multiple filters Once you’ve applied a filter to your snap, tap and hold the screen with one finger and swipe with another to layer another filter on top of it.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Save data You can reduce the amount of data Snapchat munches through by enabling Travel Mode. Find it by going to Settings and tapping Manage Preferences.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Understand emoji From here, you can also learn what those emoji that appear alongside your friends’ names mean. You can change the ones you don’t like by tapping them.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Understand message types It’s also useful to understand what Snapchat’s different-coloured arrows and squares mean, so you’ll no longer be unsure whether you can open a certain message in public or not.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Collect trophies You can find out how many Snapchat trophies you’ve earned by going to your Profile page and tapping the Trophies button. You can unlock more by trying out new things with the app.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Access Snap Map You can access the controversial Snap Map, which shows you where in the world your friends are, by pinching the main camera screen. You can also hide yourself from fellow Snapchat users by tapping the Settings icon and enabling Ghost Mode.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Discover new music You can Shazam a song within Snapchat by tapping and holding the camera screen. Once it identifies it, you can share the song with your friends.
Snapchat: How to use the new, redesigned version of the app Get new features early You can get access to new and experimental features before regular Snapchat users by joining the Snapchat beta. In the Settings menu, tap Join Snapchat Beta.
It announced the redesign last November, after reporting revenue and user growth well below Wall Street expectations. It also said some users found the app difficult to understand and use.
“There is a strong likelihood that the redesign of our application will be disruptive to our business in the short term, and we don’t yet know how the behaviour of our community will change when they begin to use our updated application,” Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said at the time.
“We’re willing to take that risk for what we believe are substantial long-term benefits to our business.”
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