INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: TheIndianSubcontinent News AgencyImage copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Many regular users of Snapchat have
complained about the service's changed look
Shares in Snapchat's parent firm fell 17% after it revealed the app's
controversial redesign had made it less attractive to would-be users.Only four million new users were added in the opening three months of
2018 - just over half the number forecast.And Snap has warned growth and revenue could slow substantially in the second quarter.That is
because the number of daily active users on Snapchat is crucial for generating advertising revenue.The data was revealed in the firm's first
came in below analysts' expectations
Snap blamed the redesign for "disrupting user behaviour" and creating some "apprehension" among its advertisers.Image copyrightGetty
it any longer
'Confusing'The results mark a major reversal of fortunes for the parent company after Snapchat added 8.9m new
users late last year.That quarterly jump in growth was the largest since Snap went public in March 2017.The new look design was meant to
attract more new users, but many of Snapchat's fans didn't like it.Celebrities publicly criticised the redesign and a tweet from Kylie
feeds were confusing and not chronological.And one million people signed a petition calling on Snap to roll back the redesign or return to
the previous version.Snap made the changes as a way for the social network to monetise its service by mixing in more adverts.Media
captionSnapchat has released Spectacles 2.0 with new features, new colours, and a new priceSticking with the planThe firm has acknowledged
that the new design hurt its results, but said the changes would drive growth in the long run."The redesign lays the foundation for the
future of both our communication products and our media platform, and we look forward to doubling down on both," chief executive Evan
Spiegel said on a conference call with analysts.Snap insisted it would stick with the plan to keep content from friends separate from other
publishers.And it seemed to brush aside concerns over any long term impact on its earnings, adding that "a change this big" comes with "some
