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Here's how the new KakaoTalk will look following failed update

Published: 02 Oct. 2025, 15:19 Updated: 02 Oct. 2025, 16:15

KakaoTalk will revert its controversial “feed-style” Friends tab, shown in the left user interface, into the directory-like format before the end of this year. [JOONGANG ILBO]

KakaoTalk will roll back its Friends tab layout by the end of the year, separating the feed and the friends list into different views, the company said.

Since the Sept. 23 update, the leftmost Friends tab has displayed a feed of friends' profile photos and status messages by default. Under the new update, the friends list will once again appear as the default while the feed will be accessible only through a button at the top.

In the current version, users must click “Friends” to see their full friends list, but after the adjustment, the list will reappear as the starting screen.

Users have expressed immense dissatisfaction with the redesign, with some saying that KakaoTalk has lost its function and identity as a messenger app. An analysis of more than 1,000 reviews posted on Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store since the redesign showed that 42 percent of users expressed dissatisfaction, according to UX survey firm pxd.

Hong Min-taek, Kakao’s chief product officer (CPO), said in a company-wide notice on Monday that “exposing the feed in the Friends tab was the single biggest inconvenience [for users],” citing strong negative feedback from them.

Hong added that the company is also working on reducing ad exposure and improving access to Open Chat features as part of broader improvements.

Hong Min-taek, Kakao's Chief Product Officer (CPO), speaks during a press conference on updates to the KakaoTalk app at the company's AI campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi on Sept. 23. [KAKAO]

Hong acknowledged that the overhaul had been “unavoidable for survival,” given Kakao’s declining operating profits, slowing revenue growth and falling chat volume. The initial feed-based design aimed to boost user engagement and ad revenue by increasing time spent in the app.

During an internal Open Talk session on Wednesday, Hong reiterated the purpose of the redesign, outlined the planned revisions and apologized to employees, according to industry sources.

Industry watchers say separating the feed into a sub-tab may undercut Kakao’s original revenue strategy. Since ad pricing is tied to traffic and exposure, hiding the feed behind a sub-tab will reduce the number of impressions.

“A company introducing feed-style ads would have forecast a certain level of traffic and ad exposure,” said an industry insider. “If the new design doesn’t reach those levels, it will be difficult for Kakao to achieve the revenue goals it initially set.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-JEONG [[email protected]]