Snapchat Redesign Moves “Discover” To Top Of Stories Tab

Snapchat just released a new update featuring a redesigned Story tab. The main change is that media brands featured in the Discover section (which previously required another tap or swipe to navigate to) are now displayed prominently at the top of the Stories list. Live stories (Snapchat curated stories from different live events) are also now at the top of the list.

This change will certaintly bring more views to the Discover section (and their interstitial advertisements), as users will no longer have to navigate to a separate page to view media partners’ stories. Notably, the move also now prioritizes content generated by media partners above content made by a user’s own friends.

While Snapchat hasn’t released numbers on how Discover is doing, this move is presumably a serious attempt to bring the feature more views. Considering it generates revenue for Snapchat, which is still getting its sea legs in the world of money-making, it’s relatively important that Discover performs well and continues to grow in viewership.

Launched about six months ago, Discover is a part of Snapchat that lets users see original content from more than 10 media outlets including ESPN, CNN, and Vice. Each of these companies provide content ranging from full-screen photos and videos to long form written stories.

When asked to comment on the new changes, Snapchat gave the following statement:

Discover is a platform for publishers to tell great stories. Since we launched, we have been experimenting and learning what content works well. We’re very excited about where we are today and making Discover accessible on our Stories page feels like a natural fit. – Snapchat Spokeswoman