Snapchat is undergoing a major visual overhaul that is scheduled to be released to the public on December 4th. After a shaky Q3 that left shareholders doubting the future of the social media app, Snapchat’s design changes could include a new content service and revamped newsfeed.
According to a report by Business Insider, Snapchat could completely redesign their look to make it “easier to use,” especially for their older users. This could mean a Facebook-like news feed to display content. However, Snapchat will still open as it always has to the camera first.
The redesign of the app will change the location of certain features such as Stories and message threads and will instead be combining all friend-based communication to the left of the camera. That means that all your threads and conversations will appear in the same place as Stories from your friends.
The new Snap is expected to use algorithms to help bring a more personalized experience to their users through an “endless” feed of videos. These changes seem to be designed to separate the interactions between friends and public figures such as verified celebrities and content from Snapchat’s publishing partners. This new design was described as “the democratization of content,” according to a source inside Snapchat.
Shareholders are not completely put at ease. Evan Spiegel, Snap’s CEO, told investors that “there is a strong likelihood that the redesign of our application will be disruptive to our business in the short term. However, he believes this change will make it the primary tool for communicating with friends.
The planned redesign date and details about the new features could change in the upcoming weeks.