“KakaoTalk in Chaos Over ‘How to Stop Automatic Updates’… Friends Tab Rollback May Happen for the First Time [Soda IT]”

Users strongly oppose the ‘Friends’ tab revamp… Controversy over turning into an advertising platform
“More ads than convenience” criticism, Kakao hopes users will adapt
Even celebrities criticize the update… Interest in the possibility of a rollback,

[Seoul=Newsis] Kakao announced on the 17th that it has released a teaser video for the ‘User-Focused, User-Friendly Customization’ campaign ahead of the KakaoTalk update on the 23rd. (Photo provided by Kakao) *Resale and DB prohibited,
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, “[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Yoon Jeong-min = On October 18, 2016, Kakao added a new feature to KakaoTalk. It is the ‘People You May Know’ feature that suggests friends even without contact information.”,
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, ‘Previously, KakaoTalk’s friend recommendation list only featured people with registered phone numbers on the user’s mobile or those registered through KakaoTalk ID.’,
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, ‘But Kakao stated that it changed the friend recommendation algorithm to “help users find and connect with friends on KakaoTalk more easily and conveniently.” Similar to Facebook and Instagram, it shows other users that a user’s social network service (SNS) friends are following as suggested friends.’,
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, “However, current KakaoTalk users are unaware that this feature existed. Why? Because Kakao withdrew the feature update within a day due to a flood of user complaints. Users reacted with comments like, ‘I don’t like my information being visible to strangers’ and ‘I am uncomfortable seeing the names of people I deleted from my contact and block lists.'”,
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[Seoul=Newsis] KakaoTalk ‘Friends’ tab (Photo provided by Kakao) *Resale and DB prohibited,
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, “The possibility of another KakaoTalk rollback (reverting to a previous version) looms, as users are significantly opposing the recent update of the ‘Friends’ tab. On various SNS and online communities, ‘how to block automatic KakaoTalk updates’ is being shared.”,
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, ‘The level of user opposition to this update is being compared to the 2022 SK C&C Pangyo Data Center fire that disrupted KakaoTalk services.’,
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, ‘Even celebrities are publicly criticizing the KakaoTalk update. The singer Lee Youngji, dubbed the “MZ Generation President,” stated through the fan communication platform “Bubble” that she “resisted updating KakaoTalk,” and after the automatic update, is removing photos from her KakaoTalk profile.’,
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[Seoul=Newsis] Kakao considered user backlash for the Friends tab revamp, allowing users to set post visibility to ‘my friends (people I added)’, ‘close friends (people I select)’, and ‘private (only me)’. (Photo=KakaoTalk Screenshot) *Resale and DB prohibited,
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, “Why are users voicing complaints? The existing Friends tab was in an alphabetical phonebook format, but the update changed it to a ‘feed interface’ similar to Instagram. It shows a timeline of content like profile picture changes or profile updates by friends.”,
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, ‘But users are reacting with comments like, “Do I really need to see my boss’s daily life?”, “I want to see friends’ photos but not business contacts’ lives”, and “I change my profile picture but don’t want it highly visible on others’ screens.”‘,
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, “Kakao has allowed setting visibility ranges for posts to ‘my friends (people I added)’, ‘close friends (people I choose)’, and ‘private (only me)’ considering user pushback. However, these settings must be configured by the person uploading the post.”,
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, “Users can control exposure to unwanted friends’ content. By clicking ‘hide friend’ in the post settings, content from that friend will no longer appear in the Friends tab. However, this setting results in the friend also disappearing from the friend list.”,
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, ‘Kakao executives anticipated negative reactions. However, they expect users to adapt in the long term, viewing it as a temporary phenomenon.’,
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, “On the 23rd, after the ‘If Kakao 25’ keynote speech, Kakao CEO Jeong Jin-ah asserted confidence to reporters, stating, “, “Even a font change can draw complaints, but ultimately, it will deliver a more convenient and liberating conversation experience.”, ‘She emphasized their effort to analyze user behavior data and actively address inconveniences reported to customer service.’,
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, ‘CEO Jeong had grounds for her remarks. As of the second quarter, an average of 13.4 million users update their profiles monthly. This implies that one in four KakaoTalk users changes their profile picture regularly, signaling that many users are already accustomed to sharing their daily life through KakaoTalk profiles.’,
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, ‘From Kakao’s perspective, a feed-based structure where users can see acquaintances’ daily activities at a glance upon logging in, without needing to click on their friend profiles, might not incite substantial backlash.’,
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[Seoul=Newsis] After the Friends tab revamp, large ads appear in the middle of the feed. (Photo=KakaoTalk Screenshot) *Resale and DB prohibited,
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, ‘However, user backlash was stronger than anticipated. Especially when the feed is scrolled down and ads occupy the entire screen instead of friends’ daily updates, users complained, “Isn’t it ultimately a revamp for ads?”‘,
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, ‘This prompted the resurgence of a notice that Kakao issued 13 years ago.’,
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, ‘Analyses suggest that Kakao’s recent move towards expanding advertising products stems from anxiety. Early last year, according to an app data research firm, KakaoTalk’s app user counts were surpassed by YouTube. The competition from foreign platforms like Instagram and TikTok is intensifying.’,
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, ‘For Kakao to continue growing, it’s vital to boost its core revenue source, the KakaoTalk B2B segment. However, KakaoTalk’s user base is almost saturated. Considering this, expanding advertising space remains the only viable path for revenue growth.’,

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