Kakao hit with backlash over ‘unwanted’ messenger update

Kakao is faced with mounting public backlash for its controversial update of KakaoTalk — the nation’s dominant mobile messenger app — with a growing number of users urging the firm to roll back the service. Last week, the mobile platform operator carried out a complete revamp of the app for the first time in 15 years, in what the company said was aimed at offering “more convenient chat experiences” to its users. The reaction, however, showed otherwise, as most users argue the app has lost its identity by imitating the format of Instagram. In particular, they voice complaints that they have lost their privacy, as any updated photos of KakaoTalk users’ friends are now automatically exposed on the app’s main page. According to data from user experience consultancy pxd, some 42 percent of KakaoTalk users called the overall update of the app “unsatisfactory.” The company tracked 1,000 reviews posted on Google Play Store and Apple App Store after KakaoTalk’s update. User anger shows no signs of abating nearly a week after the update, with a number of users stepping up critiWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times