The changes made for Snapchat was received with mixed responses from users with the disappearance of the Best Friends lists, but was met with excitement over with the addition of Snapchat Discover.
By Vivian Bermudez
On January 27th, 2015, Snapchat released a new update for their app – both for Android and Apple products. The update included the addition of Snapchat Discover; an addition that has users buzzing all across social media.
“Snapchat Discover is a new way to explore Stories from different editorial teams,” said Snapchat in an official statement on their blog. “It’s the result of collaboration with world-class leaders in media to build a storytelling format that puts the narrative first. This is not social media.”
Snapchat Discover gives its users content that ranges from live updates from news organizations to recipes from food networks to fashions tips from entertainment magazines. Current “world-class leaders in media” include CNN, Comedy Central, Cosmopolitan, Daily Mail, ESPN, the Food Network, National Geographic, People Magazine, VICE, Yahoo! News, and Warner Music Group.
Snapchat continued on to say, “Discover is different because it has been built for creatives. All too often, artists are forced to accommodate new technologies in order to distribute their work. This time we built the technology to serve the art: each edition includes full screen photos and videos, awesome long form layouts, and gorgeous advertising.”
The addition of Snapchat Discover was only one part of the update that sent users into overdrive. The update also came with the removal of the infamous best friends list.
Many users ranted on twitter about the update, upset that they can no longer keep tabs on who their partner is chatting with. The privacy Snapchat gives its users may lead to intimate messages between users.
“Creepin on other people’s best friends list on #Snapchat has finally come to an end. Secret relationships making a comeback. #SnapchatUpdate,” tweeted Snapchat user @AndrewSvrcek.
Another Snapchat user tweeted, “This new #snapchatupdate just opened up a new world of trust issues.”
Other minor updates include the ability to create a code that other Snapchat users can scan to add you to their best friend list.
However, Snapchat’s CEO, Evan Spiegel, later tweeted, “We’ll bring back BFs soon. A few higher-profile friends wanted to keep their usernames private – we’ll come up with a better way to do that.”
