Watch out for scams or workarounds claiming you can revert back to old Snapchat

A set of instructions claiming to show users how to revert back to an old version of Snapchat isn’t dangerous, but it doesn’t work for long, either.

Snapchat’s recent interface redesign hasn’t gone down well with many of readers and has received many thousands of complaints and threats to boycott the snap-happy mobile app.

A set of instructions (below), also posted by Buzzfeed, claims to show users who were unhappy with the latest Snapchat update how to revert it back to the old design. We’ve been getting plenty of questions from our own readers on whether it is safe to proceed with the step by step instructions.

While following the instructions (that involves deleting the app, turning off updates and reinstalling and selecting the “forgot password” option) doesn’t appear to do any harm, it also doesn’t really work.

Users who follow the instructions report that their Snapchat app initially reverted back to the old design for only a short period of time before being updated to the new design once again, even with automatic updates turned off. Most users reported the change happened when they restarted either their phone or the app, and didn’t last for more than a handful of hours.

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The solution was only going to be a short-term solution anyway. One of the steps involves turning off automatic updates so Snapchat cannot automatically update itself – something we don’t generally recommend since security updates won’t install, which will eventually leave your device vulnerable to software exploits.

Snapchat support responded to the ‘unofficial workaround’ with the following tweet –

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet — unofficial workarounds to change the way Snapchat looks are temporary and can result in getting permanently locked out of your account or losing Memories

While the instructions in this case are harmless, be aware that this is the sort of incident that scammers and crooks love to help them lure victims into online traps by purporting to offer a way of reverting back to the old design. For example crooks may claim to offer a “software fix” to trick victims into downloading malware or visiting spammy marketing websites that harvest your contact information.

Don’t get caught out!