"Goodbye to Manager Updates" KakaoTalk Friends Tab Restored to List Format After 3 Months

Update Begins... Feed Format Moved to Separate Menu

The Friends tab in KakaoTalk, which had been changed to a feed format during a major overhaul, has been restored to its previous list format. Users can now view their friends list directly from the Friends tab as before, while feed-style posts are accessible through the 'News' menu at the top.

On December 16, Kakao announced that it began a phased update of the KakaoTalk application from that morning, reverting the Friends tab to the previous format. However, the actual update schedule may take several days depending on the user's smartphone operating system or device.

With this update, the default view in the KakaoTalk Friends tab is now the friends list. Instead, two options, 'Friends' and 'News,' are provided at the top, allowing users to choose as needed. If users wish to use the feed-style Friends tab introduced in the previous update, they can select the 'News' menu at the top.

Previously, at its annual conference 'If Kakao' held on September 23, Kakao announced a major overhaul of KakaoTalk, introducing a feed format similar to social networking services (SNS) for the Friends tab. This change was intended to expand the function of the Friends tab, enabling users to check updates from acquaintances in an SNS-like manner.

However, immediately after the update, users voiced complaints that the revamped Friends tab was inconvenient. Some also pointed out that the change overlooked the fact that KakaoTalk is used not only for communicating with acquaintances but also for work purposes. The two major app markets saw a flood of '1-star reviews' from users expressing dissatisfaction with the Friends tab, and methods to block KakaoTalk's forced updates were shared among users.

Ultimately, about a week after announcing the overhaul, Kakao stated that it would implement improvements to restore the Friends tab to its original format. At the time, Kakao explained that the improvements would be applied within the fourth quarter, considering the development schedule, and the changes have now been implemented after about three months.

Kakao announced on the 16th that it has started a phased update of the KakaoTalk application to revert the Friends tab to the previous list format from the morning of the same day. Updated KakaoTalk Friends tab. Screenshot of KakaoTalk app

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.