When’s the last time you used the dog filter, a special effect on Snapchat? What with the frustrating UI/UX redesign, the introduction of Instagram stories and decreasing number of users, it seems as if Snapchat going to take its last breath.
Most users have moved past the redesign mayhem of last February, but moving on doesn’t mean they have forgotten about it. Users lost respect and love for the Snapchat brand. Snapchat’s refusal to address a petition and the thousands of tweets complaining about the app’s user experience and navigation was a perfect storm that Instagram was able to capitalize on.
Instagram has everything you need in one spot: a permanent profile of your favorite pictures, temporary stories easily seen by your followers, a discover page customized toward your interests, an intuitive interface and a bigger pool of friends, celebrities and brands to follow. Although Instagram still hasn’t mastered the face filters, they’re still there. And its newest partnership with Spotify allows you to share albums, tracks, artists and playlists directly to Instagram Stories.
Where did Snapchat go wrong? It might have been in trying to do too much. SnapStreaks, trophies, Snap Maps, Snapcash, game filters, AR filters, private messaging, video chatting, broadcasting stories, sponsored ads that you can’t avoid, groups, subscriptions and the confusing discover feature was a bit too much. Products and services thrive when they have a niche and hone in on a specific target. Snapchat may still have the teen audience but that’s all they’ll probably get for the time being, since the older generations have moved to Instagram and Facebook (who own Instagram).
Instagram Stories’ numbers are speaking for itself, climbing to 400 million daily active users in June 2018. Snapchat, on the other hand, is still rising but at smaller increments than in the past, currently at 191 million daily active users. Snapchat may not be dead yet, but with Instagram closing in on 400 million, its demise might be just around the corner.