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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Kakao has decided to revert the recently updated Friends tab in KakaoTalk following widespread criticism from users. The reversal, scheduled to take effect by the end of this year, marks a major setback for the company’s first large-scale overhaul of the messenger app in 15 years. The failed redesign has also sparked growing calls for accountability from Kakao’s leadership, particularly Chief Product Officer Hong Min-taek, who spearheaded the update.
According to the IT industry on the 30th, Kakao announced it will restore the traditional Friends List as the default landing screen in the Friends tab. The current feed-style content will instead be moved to a separate News menu. In effect, the first screen users see when launching KakaoTalk will return to its pre-update form. Due to development timelines, the rollback is expected to be implemented within the year.
At the same time, Kakao plans to strengthen safeguards for minors in the short-form video feature recently added to the Now tab. On September 27, the company introduced a Minor Protection Request menu within the tab and is now reviewing further measures to make the process more user-friendly.
Kakao had initially pursued the large-scale redesign to increase user engagement, but the backlash was swift. Many users argued the app had “lost its essence as a messenger,” objecting to the Instagram-style feed that exposed personal details—including profiles of colleagues and business contacts—without consent. Concerns also mounted over unfiltered exposure of short-form content to underage users.
The update was met with a flood of one-star reviews on major app marketplaces, while interest in alternative messaging platforms surged. According to Mobile Index, daily new installations of LINE jumped to about 29,000 on September 26—triple the 9,160 downloads recorded before the KakaoTalk update on September 22. NateOn downloads also skyrocketed from about 650 to 11,600 in the same period, an 18-fold increase.
As Kakao’s long-awaited redesign collapsed under user pushback, internal discussions within the company have increasingly turned to management responsibility for the failed initiative.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
