Snapchat has been experiencing bad days with Facebook and others copying its features. And after one major redesign to its app, many more people are starting to dislike it.
The reality TV star and social media influencer Kylie Jenner from the Kardashian's family, tweeted that she doesn't use the app anymore. She was one of Snapchat's power user. But whether it's because of her motherhood or the app redesign, her opinion that highlighted her dislike drew similar replies from her 24+ million followers.
Having experienced its stock trading low over the previous week, Jenner's tweet which was just at 88 characters, completed the blow.
As a result, Snap, Inc. which is Snapchat's parent, had its shares sank to as much as 7.2 percent, wiping out $1.3 billion in market value.
"Still love you tho snap," said Jenner in a later tweet.
Meanwhile, her tweet also indirectly aided Facebook, owner of competing app Instagram. The company's stock closed Friday up $13 billion from where it was before Jenner's Snapchat tweet.
still love you tho snap ... my first love
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) February 21, 2018
CEO Evan Spiegel rejected people's complaints about November's redesign to its messaging app, with him saying that users just needed time to get used to it. The company also stood on its ground when more than a million people signed to Change.org complaining about the redesign.
"Our work during 2017 is proof that we aren’t afraid to make big changes for the long-term success of our business," he said.
Snap's shares dropped just after Jenner's tweet, but it didn't take that long until it's back to near the $17 price, the value of its shares when it was first listed on the stock market.
While Snapchat experiences heavy criticisms, Spiegel still remains as one of the highest paid executives in the U.S.. His basic salary for 2017 was $98,078, but after Snap's IPO, Spiegel got a $636.6 million stock grant.