Snapchat’s new font change triggers meltdown online

It’s not just you: Snapchat does suddenly look different.

Tucked away in an update deployed yesterday, the ephemeral photo messaging app completely changed the font on the contact list and Stories page, shifting away from Helvetica to a font called Avenir. (The texting toolbar font remains unchanged).

At least Snapchat is just being true to its whole modus operandi: Nothing lasts forever. Still, cue the freak out.

People didn’t care for the change, with 74 percent of nearly 3,000 mentions of it online trending negative according to Brandwatch. “Many negative mentions talk about how the new font makes the app look like another operating system or style of phone,” Kellan Terry, a Brandwatch analyst, told Digiday, as evidenced by these tweets:

Within the reactions, women accounted for 63 percent of negative feedback: The phrases “hate the new Snapchat font” and the “font is disgusting” was repeated more often by women than men.

Snapchat is the latest brand to cause a meltdown on social media because of a minor design tweak. It joins Spotify, which recently changed the color of its signature green, and Apple, which released a new font on iOS 9. Both changes were slammed online before people got used to it.

“Negative mentions will accumulate simply because updates alter user experience, no matter how slightly,” Terry said. “Users become comfortable with how an app works, and when an update changes anything, people go to social media to air their grievances.”

Snapchat didn’t immediately respond for comment.

More in Media

How Time and others are rebuilding parts of the web for AI agents 

Publishers are preparing for the agentic web by creating AI-friendly versions of their sites to stay discoverable in AI search.

The Economist’s launches new audio and video tier targeting younger subscribers 

The Economist has launched a lower-priced audio and video subscription to attract younger readers, called Economist Play.

OpenX hunts new CEO after parting ways with Matt Sattel as chief executive

The ad tech company is switching leaders, ending the current CEO’s five-month term in office.