Snap has officially abandoned its plans for a simplified three-tab version of Snapchat, just seven months after testing began. The decision came as part of Snap’s Q1 2025 earnings release, where the company also reported a revenue increase and teased upcoming AI-powered features.
Snapchat’s redesign eliminated the Snap Map and Stories tabs, replacing them with a stripped-down interface centered around chat, camera, and Spotlight. However, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel admitted the simplified version failed to win over core users. Power users struggled to adapt, as they frequently relied on Stories and Snap Map—two features removed in the experiment.
Spiegel said Snap learned valuable lessons from the trial, but ultimately found that the redesign made it harder to navigate the app. “We found it difficult, especially for power users… to adopt the three-tab design,” Spiegel told investors. As a result, Snap is pivoting to a new layout.
Instead of simplifying further, Snap is now testing a “refined five-tab interface.” This updated design maintains all current tabs while improving visibility for Spotlight, Snapchat’s TikTok-style feature. According to Snap’s shareholder letter, the new layout merges the best aspects of the earlier design by keeping tile-based discovery and restoring the dedicated Map tab.
Snap noted that My AI usage in the US grew by more than 55% year-over-year, and teased further AI-powered features and augmented reality innovations coming later in 2025.
While Snap added 38 million daily active users globally year-over-year, it lost 1 million users in North America during Q1, bringing regional DAUs down to 99 million. Worldwide DAUs reached 460 million, and the platform now boasts over 900 million monthly active users.
Revenue for Q1 2025 reached $1.36 billion, up 14% from the previous year, driven by growth in Snapchat+ subscriptions and improvements in advertising solutions.