1,251,902
Take a minute and think about that number. Visualize it the best you can, whether it be like that one video with a billion jelly beans or as a huge fraction of the entire population of the world. That number could be the number of people in a city or town, but instead it’s a number on a change.org petition to try and get Snapchat developers to revert the app back to how it was before the most recent update. Since the creation of the petition, over 1.2 million Snapchat users have signed it, making it one of the most severe responses to an app ever. User and petition creator Nic Rumsey states, “this petition aims to help convince Snap Inc. to change the app back to the basics, before the new 2018 update.”
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel responded by saying “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.” Thanks for that, Evan. I’m glad because you’re used to it already, we’re all ready and equipped to dedicate our lives to getting used to your new, crappy, app. Despite the fact that many users (like myself) are so averse to the update, the app has actually seen a positive impact on the company’s numbers.
Investors in Snapchat’s stock were in for a stressful few weeks after the app’s stock by over 10 points after serial-snapper Kylie Jenner tweeted (insert tweet pic here) “Sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore? Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad.” 372,000 likes and 75,000 retweets later, stock had dropped by 6.1 percent, demolishing $1.3 billion (yes, billion with a B) of Snapchat’s market value. As annoying as the update is, it’s not annoying enough to seriously impact the number of users on the app, which is still sitting at around 190 million people around the world.
The update couldn’t have come at a better time for Snapchat, in all actuality. According to tech analyst firm SensorTower, “new installs of the app increased a minimum of 41 percent over the same day a week earlier on Saturday, February 10th, and as much as 76 percent on Wednesday, February 7th.” SensorTower also points out that in the week following the update, there were over 910,000 unique installs – keeping in mind that the number of unique installs is not affected by individuals re-downloading the app or installing the app on different devices using the same app store or Google Play accounts. It’s impossible to tell if new users were drawn to downloading because of the update, or in spite of the update, with some tech analysts suggesting that there have been so many new users because people have been so curious about what is so bad about the new update.
Despite the backlash that the app has received, the update is understandable. Since Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram last year and the introduction of Instagram stories, Snapchat has begun to fall behind in the realm of real-time life updates. SensorTower reports that before the update Snapchat was in danger of falling out of the list of the United States iPhone top 10 free apps, which is something that has only happened three times to any app in the past five years.
Is the update annoying? Yes.
But, even though it’s difficult and messy and I really can’t find half of the famous people I used to follow, the update was necessary to keep everyone’s favorite invasion of privacy alive and well. So thanks, Snap. I guess.
