Snapchat update: Why reverting back to the old version of the app could put your phone at risk

'Consumers need to understand that such updates perform a myriad of tasks'

Snapchat’s big redesign has received overwhelmingly negative feedback from users, but you shouldn’t try to return to the previous version of the app.

While the company has said it “isn’t possible” to revert back to the old version of Snapchat, Twitter users have been circulating step-by-step instructions for a workaround that lets you do exactly that.

However, it could leave you vulnerable to cyber criminals.

One of the key steps involves switching off automatic updates for the app.

This will ensure you stay on the version of Snapchat you’re currently using. In this particular instance, the idea is for users to stay on the old version of Snapchat, before it was redesigned.

Even with automatic updates turned off, you’ll still be able to update to the new version of Snapchat by manually permitting the update.

However, the only reason people are even attempting to reverse the Snapchat redesign update is because they know they don’t want it.

If avoiding the redesign means avoiding all future updates for the Snapchat app, lots of users are simply going to keep their Snapchat app as it is, and ignore all available updates.

That’s a huge risk that simply isn’t worth taking.

“While the changes to Snapchat’s user interface haven’t gone down too well, users need to be aware that any app updates are also likely to contain vital security updates in addition to changes to the look and feel,” Raj Samani, chief scientist at McAfee, told The Independent.

“In line with advice from the [National Cyber Security Centre], we recommend people enable automatic updates. This helps to protect devices from criminals looking to use weaknesses in software and apps to attack your devices and steal your identity.”

Nick Shaw, the vice president and general manager of Norton EMEA,” believes that keeping your software and apps up-to-date “has never been so important”.

“Consumers need to understand that such updates perform a myriad of tasks, such as adding new and removing outdated features but more importantly – fixing security holes that have been discovered,” he said.

“And while vulnerabilities patches are usually issued quickly, the best way to stay safe is to ensure your applications and devices are always up-to-date.”

The best way to do this is by enabling automatic updates on your phone.

On Android, you can do this by opening the Google Play Store app, opening the main menu, and tapping Settings and Auto-update apps.

On iOS, you can do this by tapping Settings, your name, iTunes & App Store and turning on Automatic Downloads for apps.

“It is incredibly important to keep your apps up to date as they generally hold huge amounts of sensitive, personal data – everything from your email address to your bank details,” said Azeem Aleem, the director of advanced cyber defence practice for EMEA and APJ at RSA.

“Many of the updates issued by app developers have new security measures built in to protect users, so sticking with the old version could leave you vulnerable to an attack.”