# Snapchat Ditches “Simple” Redesign After Losing North American Users

## Snapchat Ditches “Simple” Redesign After Losing North American Users

Snapchat is reversing course on its planned “Simple Snapchat” redesign, a decision seemingly prompted by a decline in North American users. The company revealed in its Q1 2025 earnings report that it will instead test a “refined” layout, maintaining the app’s familiar five-tab structure.

The “Simple Snapchat” redesign, first tested last year, aimed to streamline the user experience by reducing the main navigation bar to three tabs: Stories, the camera, and Spotlight (Snapchat’s TikTok-like video feed). This would have removed the Snap Map and private chats tabs from the primary interface.

However, after months of testing, Snap is abandoning this approach. According to a letter to investors, highly engaged Snapchatters consistently preferred the five-tab layout, favoring the tile-based content discovery and the dedicated Map tab.

This isn’t the first time a Snapchat redesign has backfired. In 2018, a previous overhaul aimed at separating content from friends and brands led to a drop in stock value and a user exodus.

The new, revamped five-tab layout aims to blend the best of both worlds. It promises to bring more Stories into the messaging experience and make Spotlight more accessible by positioning it directly to the right of the camera button.

While Snap hasn’t disclosed the extent of the “Simple Snapchat” redesign rollout or where it was tested, the company did report a loss of 1 million daily active users in North America in the most recent quarter, falling from 100 million in Q4 2024 to 99 million. Snapchat’s usage in North America has remained relatively stagnant for nearly three years.

Despite the decline in North American users, Snap reported a 14 percent year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $1.36 billion. This growth is attributed to advertising and the increasing popularity of its Snapchat Plus subscription service. Globally, Snapchat continues to expand, with daily active users rising from 453 million to 460 million in the last quarter.