Join us Oct. 15-17 in Phoenix to connect with top media buyers

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:
Hate the new snapchat feel like I have a Samsung with the font
— Abby (@abbyfent17) March 9, 2016
the new font of the snapchat update got me feelin like i have an android
— Gadielle (@GadielleErin) March 9, 2016
this new font feels like I’m using snapchat on a blackberry
— Jerome Billingham (@Jeromebilll) March 9, 2016
For a second I thought my phone was an Android when I saw the new Snapchat font and I almost threw up
— ellyeah (@ewershizzle) March 9, 2016
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

Inside The Economist’s plan to grow revenues in a post-search, AI-driven future
The publisher is investing in formats that are more difficult for machines to mimic, like video and audio, while holding a hard line against licensing deals with AI firms it views as competitors.

Discord puts proof behind its ad pitch with first measurement push
The measurement test comes a year and six months after Discord rolled out Quests, and is the latest signal that it is going all-in on measurement in 2025 as it moves from experimental campaigns to something advertisers can trust at scale.

Media Briefing: From standards to marketplaces: the AI ‘land grab’ is on
The AI space is growing crowded, with companies vying to set AI standards and build marketplaces to help publishers monetize content.