**Online Discussions on ‘How to Disable Automatic Updates’ Surge**
Users Experience Annoyance with Missing Friend Lists and Grid-Format Feed with Ads
(Seoul=Yonhap News) By Oh Ji-eun – In a record-breaking update after 15 years, Kakao has revamped its KakaoTalk app, but some users are expressing discomfort with the changes.
According to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry on the 24th, discontent is emerging in online communities regarding the new friend tab, which now displays profile updates instead of friend lists in the latest KakaoTalk update.
The day before, Kakao hosted its event, “If Kakao,” announcing the implementation of a feed-style user interface (UI) in the friend tab, allowing users to check their friends’ profile changes in a timeline format.
Previously, users could see their friends’ names, profile photos, and status messages in a list format; now, profile pictures, background images, and posts appear in a grid format similar to social media (SNS).
However, some users have expressed fatigue with these changes. Lee Ah-young (32) mentioned, “It’s tiring to see the profile changes of acquaintances and work contacts filling up the friend tab screen,” adding, “It’s surprising to see ads appearing in the same size as friend posts in the middle of the feed.”
There are also posts noting that the size of ads within the KakaoTalk app has increased. Kim Mo (29), an office worker, stated, “Ad accounts have appeared in my friend list,” and “It feels like the proportion of ads on the screen has increased.”
An X (formerly Twitter) user ‘doo***’ posted, “The banner ads seem to have gotten bigger vertically after the update.”
As a result, methods to disable automatic app updates on Google Play Store and Apple App Store are spreading online.
Kwon Joon-hyuk (31) said, “If you search for KakaoTalk update online, you find ‘how to disable KakaoTalk automatic updates,'” noting the negative reaction to the update led him to turn off the automatic update function.
Lee Dae-seong (29) added, “Those who have already updated KakaoTalk are clamoring to roll back to the previous version.”
The day prior, Kakao’s CEO Jeong Sinha visited the press room after his keynote session at If Kakao, stating, “There might be inconvenience for some users after the update, but it is a revision aimed at providing a pleasant environment for users.”
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