Snapchat is preparing to roll out a controversial new update in the UK.
We have learned that the picture app is expecting to offer users the ability to upgrade their software tonight or tomorrow.
The update has been rolling out across the world and has proven to be a wee bit annoying for some users.
Snapchat itself is braced for the usual chorus of grumbles and moans which accompany any new release.
“Updates as big as this one can take a little getting used to, but we hope the community will enjoy it once they settle in,’ a spokesman said.
The app update makes big changes to Friends, Discover and Stories.
The Stories page, which let people post pictures and videos for 24 hours, has been removed.
Instead, you can see your personal Snapchats jumbled up with mates’ content on the Friends screen.
On the Discover page you can see content produced by brands, publications or professional content creators.
Some Snapchatters in other parts of the world were furious about the update.
PLEASE @Snapchat I'm literally begging take back the update I've never felt so strongly about soemthing pLEASE I CANT HANDLE IT
— Kahla (@KahlaJade) January 10, 2018
okay so for me at least, snapchat has had a complete rework in an update and honestly it's disgusting. it's so weird to use and I don't know why it's been changed (this picture is the screen for chats and viewing stories? wtf) pic.twitter.com/Ak6F2Pchyr
— yin moongi [D-5] (@apwftbts) January 9, 2018
One person took to Twitter to slam the update as ‘the worst thing I’ve ever seen’.
‘I’m lowkey scared to update my Snapchat,’ another confessed.
A particularly irate selfie-lover also raged: ‘The bright f****** spark who thought this update was a good idea needs to be fired immediately. What the f***?’
In a blog published last year, Snapchat said the update was designed to separate content produced by friends and professionals.
‘Until now, social media has always mixed photos and videos from your friends with content from publishers and creators,’ it wrote.
‘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 (such as fake news) and made us feel like we have to perform for our friends rather than just express ourselves.’
When you install the update, Snapchat will be split in two.
It will still open to display the camera, making it easy to snap video or photos.
Chats and Stories from your friends can be viewed by swiping left, while Stories from ‘publishers, creators and the community’ can be viewed on Discover by swiping to the right.
The Friends page has also been redesigned to make it more ‘dynamic’ so that mates you speak to often are given more prominence than people you don’t really interact with all that much.
Snapchat added: ‘You can think of it as a more sophisticated Best Friends algorithm that makes it easier to find the friends you want to talk to, when you want to talk to them.
‘We’ve all had the frustrating experience of scrolling endlessly through our Chats to find the right person – now your friends will be listed in the order that you want to talk to them.
‘It might take a little while for the Friends page to learn the best way to display your friends, but the results are worth it.’
The Discover page will show you content from publishers and creators you’ve subscribed to at the top, with recommended Stories underneath which are chosen by an algorithm which learns from your behaviour and works out the sort of stuff you’re likely to want to see.
Curators will review and approve everything that gets promoted on the page.
Snapchat claimed ‘this balance of human review and machine personalization provides the best content experience’.
It continued: ‘Separating social from media has allowed us to build the best way to communicate with friends and the best way to watch great content, while addressing many of the problems that plague the Internet today.’
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METRO
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