Snapchat is continuously working on adding more features and improving the app. The Snapchat app has seen frequent updates lately, and the latest update lets you add a photo to your Snapchat profile. Another update that is not welcomed by many users is the addition of ‘Discover’ feature, where Snapchat adds stories from various companies such as Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan, MTV, Fusion, CNN, Bleacher Report, Vice, National Geographic, People, Food Network and Yahoo.
When the update was first introduced a few months ago, the app added a dedicated page just for these stories. From the camera interface, you had to swipe two times from the right side, one time to see all your friends’ stories, and another time to go to the ‘Discover’ page.
The latest update has made the ‘Discover’ feature even more annoying. Despite the fact that these stories have their own page, now Snapchat has added them on the main page where all your friends’ stories are. You have your stories, ‘Discover’, live stories and then your friends’ videos and images.
This has become very annoying for many users, not only because you are obligated to see the icons every time you want to see a story, but also because ‘Discover’ uses a huge amount of data, so unless you are connected to a WiFi network, your mobile plan will end soon.
If you are an Android user, there is a way to completely disable and remove the ‘Discover’ page. It is not exactly disabling, more like downgrading back to an older version which doesn’t have this feature.
Disable Discover on Snapchat Android App
Here’s what you need to finally get rid of ‘Discover’ on your Android Snapchat app.
Note: You need to have a rooted phone. We will be using Titanium Backup, an application which requires root.
Downloads
- Titanium Backup
- Latest version of Snapchat (link)
- Snapchat 8.1.2 APK – com.snapchat.android-8.1.2-469-minAPI14.apk
You can download the latest version of Snapchat directly from the Play Store. The current version installed on your phone should be fine.
- Install the latest version of Snapchat on your Android phone and sign in.
- Close the app and go to Titanium Backup.
- Go to Backup/Restore, find Snapchat and tap on ‘Backup’.
- Uninstall the current Snapchat app and install Snapchat version 8.1.2 using the provided APK.
- Go to Titanium Backup again and tap on restore. Make sure to restore only data, not app & data.
- Reboot your phone and open the app.
Now the ‘Discover’ feature will be gone. Do not worry if Snapchat gives you a warning that the app is outdated. It will go away shortly.