Snap's CEO calls reaction to app redesign a learning experience

Evan Spiegel says he's learned from the negative reception to a recent redesign of his company's chat app.

Snap, the company behind the social media network, unveiled new features earlier this year to try to make Snapchat more personalized. What the company ended up with was major social media influencers like Kylie Jenner expressing disappointment with the app, directly contributing to a 7.2 percent drop in the company's share price and wiping about $1 billion off the company's market value.

The negative reaction caught the Spiegel off-guard, the Snap chief executive said Tuesday during an appearance at Recode's Code Conference, which is being held this week in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

"One thing I underestimated was how it would impact our investors," Spiegel said. "They couldn't comprehend why we would change our service. That was a really great lesson for me."

The company's $24 billion IPO in March has been a learning experience for Spiegel, who says being a public company "requires a bit more grit."

"When you're a private company, you can smooth the ups and downs," he said. "The more important thing is building the muscle to do the right thing rather than for the numbers."

With all the company introspection Spiegel was doing Tuesday evening, he did manage to get a dig in at social media rival Facebook, which has been grappling with a scandal over misuse of its user data.

When asked how he feels about competitors copying his app's features, he was a little charitable.

"People are going to continue to follow the innovations that we've created," he said. "As a designer, if you've created something so simple and elegant that the only thing people can do is copy it exactly.

"We'd really appreciate it if they copied our data protection too."

Security: Stay up-to-date on the latest in breaches, hacks, fixes and all those cybersecurity issues that keep you up at night.

Blockchain Decoded: CNET looks at the tech powering bitcoin -- and soon, too, a myriad services that will change your life.