Snapchat has reportedly dumped plans for a kids version Regarding its highly complex application, this choice comes after an extensive seven-month trial phase. This determination was disclosed during the company’s Q1 2025 earnings release , showcasing the platform’s continuous development in line with user preferences.
Snapchat made waves last year when it first tested a drastic redesign. They’ve gotten rid of the Snap Map and Stories tabs, making navigation simpler into a three-icon format that includes chat, camera, and Spotlight. With the focus on the homepage, user testing showed us that this simplified method was just not connecting with its heaviest users. Snapchat’s daily active users in North America have fallen to just 99 million. That’s down from 100 million in Q2 2023 and 100 million this time last year (Q3 2022).
Although Snapchat experienced a decline in North American daily active users (DAUs), which wasn't something to cheer about, it saw growth globally with total DAUs reaching a new peak of 460 million—a rise of 38 million compared to the previous year. Additionally, the social media platform recently achieved its highest-ever number of monthly active users (MAUs) at over 900 million across the world. However, when reporting their financials for the first quarter, they shared underwhelming figures amounting to only $1.36 billion. Despite these less-than-ideal numbers, this represents a significant increase of 14%, marking progress since the same period last year.
Testing a New Interface
Based on user feedback on the app’s cluttered design, Snapchat is currently testing a new “refined five-tab interface.” Our new design retains all of the current tabs. It deepens engagement with users by making it easier to discover Spotlight and bringing even more Stories directly into the messaging experience. The updated interface places Spotlight directly to the right of the Camera icon. This strategic placement means users can quickly move between features with ease.
Snap has mentioned that their most engaged users have expressed significant positive feedback regarding this five-tab layout.
"Our most activeSnapchatters regularly showed a preference for a design with five tabs, appreciating the familiarity of discovering content through tiles along with having a separate Map tab," - Snap
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel admitted that the storm the previous, greatly-simplified design had caused. He reflected on the redesign process being an eye-opening experience. In the end, it was a move that hurt the committed users, many of whom use features such as the map and Stories extensively.
"In regards to Snapchat’s straightforward design, although we gained valuable insights from the redesign, we discovered that it posed significant challenges, particularly for heavy users—those avid fans who frequently utilize features like the map and stories. The new three-tab layout proved cumbersome as it complicated access to stories, subscriptions, and even the map," stated Snap CEO Evan Spiegel.
The decision to revert to a more complex interface reflects Snapchat’s commitment to addressing the needs of its core user base. According to their most recent earnings release, though North American user growth might be waffling, global engagement is up.
Featured image credit: Anton via Pexels
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