Petition against Snapchat redesign reaches one million signatures

More than one million people have signed a petition urging Snapchat to undo a redesign to the app which users claim makes it more difficult to use.

The photo and video-sharing app updated to separate content and interactions with friends from items from branded content, news services and businesses.

The company said the change aimed to separate "social" from "media" but users have found the new features "annoying".

Petition creator, Nic Rumsey wrote: "Many users have found that it has not made the app easier to use, but has in fact made many features more difficult."

"There is a general level of annoyance among users and many have decided to use a VPN app, or are using other risky apps or steps, to go back to the old Snapchat as that’s how annoying this new update has become," he added.

"Many 'new features' are useless or defeats the original purposes Snapchat has had for the past years."

Despite opposition to the changes, Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel said that the app would not be returned to its original design.

"While we are still very early in the rollout, we are optimistic about the potential to unlock additional growth with the redesign of our application," he said.

"As expected, it will take time for our community to get used to the changes, but overall, we are pleased with the initial results."