Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) has redesigned its flagship Snapchat app in an attempt to make it simpler to use.
The new design puts all messages and stories from a user’s friends on the left side of the camera screen, and all news content from the media on the other side.
Interestingly, the company said a human being would curate the news feed, though algorithms would be used to determine the order in which news items and features are displayed.
“We are separating the social from the media, and taking an important step forward towards strengthening our relationships with our friends and our relationships with the media,” said Snapchat’s chief executive officer, Evan Spiegel, in a blog post.
The decision not to meld content from friends with news from accredited news organizations and verified celebrities is seen as an attempt to cut down on “fake news”.
“While blurring the lines between professional content creators and your friends has been an interesting Internet experiment, it has also produced some strange side-effects (like fake news) and made us feel like we have to perform for our friends rather than just express ourselves,” Spiegel explained.
Snap, one of the most disappointing stock market flotations of recent times – the shares have lost two-fifths of their value since the company listed in March – is under pressure to get its growth rate zooming again while, in common with the likes of Twitter, is has also struggled to make money from its large user base.
Respected technology site Tech Crunch applauded the move to give greater prominence to stories posted by best friends, in the way that rival app Instagram does, rather than just listing them chronologically, “which emphasized over-sharers you might not care about”.
“Importantly, Snapchat is bringing back Stories auto-advance, but with a twist. Snap used to automatically play the next Story in your list after your last, but Snap moved to a more cumbersome Story playlist in late 2016 where you had to manually pick what you wanted to watch. That and Instagram Stories are believed to have sapped view counts, leading many to think Snapchat had lost its mojo,” wrote Tech Crunch’s Josh Constine.
The roll-out of the new app will start this week.
Share in Snap were down 1.8% at US$13.45 in pre-market trading.