Social-media monarch Kylie Jenner – a longtime Snapchat power user and arguably one of the most important trendsetters on there – suggested this week she may be done with the app, which is bad news for a company that has already seen numerous users get mad online (but more importantly maybe reduce their engagement) over a recent redesign.
“sooo does anyone else not open Snapchat anymore?” Jenner tweeted. “Or is it just me… ugh this is so sad …
“still love you tho snap … my first love,” she added.
still love you tho snap … my first love
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) February 21, 2018
Jenner is not just a power user, but has worked with the company before on partnerships. The Kardashian/Jenner clan also allegedly uses the app, along with others like Facebook and Instagram, to flaunt Federal Trade Commission requirements on advertising disclosure, which is big business in an era where huge followings can translate to tens of thousands of dollars in paid endorsements. The ability to monetise engagement is what attracts celebrities and the hordes that follow them. So, like, not to overstate the case or anything, but this is something that probably upset Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel’s day – attracting high-profile celebrities is crucial to the site’s hipster image.
Snap has remained publicly committed to the user-maligned redesign, and on Tuesday it released a statement saying that it wasn’t going anywhere. But it’s clear that the redesign fiasco is dragging on for the company longer than expected, right at the time rival Facebook is losing users and Snapchat seemed to be picking some of them up, and perhaps Snap was ever so slightly less screwed than it was before.