After KakaoTalk carried out a large-scale overhaul for the first time in five years, user reviews complaining of inconvenience have been pouring into the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Some users are leaving a one-star rating and demanding that the previous version be restored.
According to the industry on the 28th, UX (user experience) specialist company PXD analyzed 1,000 KakaoTalk reviews registered after the update on the 23rd using its user analysis tool Affinity Bubble, and found that many reviews said the update worsened the user experience.
In detail, complaints about the overall update were the most common at 42%. Criticism poured in, calling it an update that failed to reflect consumer demands and the worst overhaul ever. Those pointing to the UI and design accounted for 19%, and complaints related to the friends list and profiles made up 10%.
In particular, strong backlash erupted over the change to the Friends tab, which previously showed the friends list, profile photos, and status messages, into a grid-style screen similar to an Instagram feed. Now you have to press a separate button to check the friends list. Many users said KakaoTalk has focused excessively on social media (SNS) elements over the core functions of a messenger.
Among user reviews, 15% demanded a restoration to the previous version, and 4% said they were considering moving to another service. The increased share of ads displayed on the screen (6%) after this update was also a source of dissatisfaction. As the Friends tab was changed to a feed format, ads of the same size as profile change logs are now shown together.
These negative reactions also affected the market. Kakao's share price at one point during trading on the 26th fell more than 4%, breaking below the 60,000 won level. With backlash against the Friends tab particularly strong in the industry, many assess that Kakao will inevitably have to adjust it in future updates. A Kakao official said, "We will listen to user feedback and improve functions by reflecting it."