Tech

Snapchat's new interface is already pushing some users to Instagram

Key Points
  • Snapchat released a user interface redesign to tons of users over the past weekend and the reaction appears to be overwhelmingly negative, according to a study published Tuesday.
  • There has been a dramatic rise in discussion on social media of users switching to Instagram's "Stories" feature after Snapchat's update.
How to navigate Snapchat's new design
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How to navigate Snapchat's new design

Snap rolled out its recent redesign to many users this weekend, and the reaction has been so negative that its pushing many users to Instagram instead.

Almost 80 percent of all tweets about Snapchat are currently negative, with the spike in negative mentions occurring right as the new interface started rolling out to users, according to a study from LikeFolio.

The update includes a reformatted layout that can be confusing for some users to access the features they use on a daily basis. That confusion quickly turned to hatred.

There is even a petition on Change.org calling for Snapchat to reverse the update with more than 750,000 supporters, with the number increasing rapidly.

It's normal to see a negative reaction to user interface changes, but the backlash toward Snapchat's redesign is unprecedented, according to LikeFolio founder Andy Swan. The response to Snapchat is even worse than the reaction to Chipotle's E.coli outbreak, he said.

One of the most loved features from Snapchat is the "Stories" feature, which allows users to post pictures and videos visible to all their friends that disappear after 24 hours. Other social media apps, like Instagram and its parent company, Facebook, have created similar Stories functions after Snapchat's success.

Many Snapchat users aren't ready to leave their Stories behind and are turning to Instagram's version as a replacement. Ever since the redesign, people have been talking about switching to Instagram Stories instead. The LikeFolio study showed a dramatic surge in tweets about switching to the feature.

Interestingly, the Instagram Stories feature also endured user backlash when it was first released in the summer of 2016, but that backlash was not nearly as dramatic as Snapchat's and disappeared within a week.

There is no clear rise in Instagram downloads, but Instagram has such a large user base already that most of the people switching to Instagram Stories had the app to begin with. There has not been a decrease in Snapchat downloads yet, but it's too early to tell what the lasting impact will be.

Parent company Snap has not released any comments regarding the user response yet and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Snap.