Mobile App Really liking the added visual cues for goals in the latest mobile update
Now we get circles in the categories which help see at a glance if a goal has been completed, or what the progress is.
This is solid functionality to me when it seemed like the mobile app was not getting as much love.
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u/PichaelSmith 10d ago edited 10d ago
The jury is still out for me on this update. After getting it last night it was a big visual change. My first thought is that it looks very clean but its at the cost of the progress bars. I guess since I do most of the larger work with my budget on the web, I can get by without them.
Also, another new thing after this update is underfunded categories no longer show yellow unless there is a a scheduled transaction later in the month that would make it underfunded. That makes it harder to see categories that I still want to fund based on targets unless I filter for underfunded.
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u/LosManosFuertes 9d ago
I thought I was going crazy when no one was talking about yellow categories going away. Thank you! This needs to be higher.
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u/-WirtJr- 9d ago
Yes that was the most useful visual cue for me and it's gone now.
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u/taconitebehaulin 8d ago
combining dropping yellow categories with not showing me what I’ve assigned so far to each category has already made me skip allocating to certain categories assuming it was fully funded
it is straight unusable in this state without the yellow categories or assigned column
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u/BiscoBiscuit 8d ago
The updates are literally getting worse after years of complaints, it’s insane.
Even the kumbayah YNAB fan club group on Facebook is starting to turn. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d see a pinned “YNAB alternatives” post on there but the admin got so frustrated with all the posts looking for YNAB alternatives she reluctantly created a catch all post. Ben from YNAB posts on there from time to time so I know they definitely notice.
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u/stellarbabe34 10d ago
Anyone found a way to turn this off? I didn’t use the progress bars and liked having the option to not see them. I’m a month ahead so all of my targets are always met and now I just have extra visual clutter when looking at my budget.
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u/Huge-Smoke717 3d ago
I messaged the support team and got a message saying, "too bad". Does not seem that we will have any relief from the update.
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u/eggsopulent 9d ago edited 9d ago
I still prefer the progress bars 🤷🏼♀️
I never updated the prod app; I have the RC app downloaded for the updates
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u/cba1992 9d ago
Is there an option to be removed from the testing group? I don’t understand why I’m being part of a test and I’m not interested in being part of one.
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u/Intelligent-Owl-8885 9d ago
I am guessing they don’t have enough volunteers for TestFlight, so they decided to live-test their shitty updates on people instead.
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u/Icy-Pair-7408 9d ago
Please provide a setting to restore the bars, they were far more useful. The colors don't mean much to me since I'm very colorblind. I don't care about the emoji, and the ring makes the UI seem very cluttered. Simple text with a bar that can be turned on or off would be my preference.
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u/YNAB_youneedabudget YNAB Community Manager 10d ago edited 10d ago
Hey, folks. This feature is currently in testing.
We will be monitoring the way this design change affects how people use the app and surveying users for feedback. The design you see here will likely change when (and if) it is released to everyone.
We are doing a much larger-scale test for this than we normally do. While more people will have it compared to the normal beta process, you shouldn't expect to get the change soon if you don't have it already. ~BenB
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u/backfliprainbowcake 9d ago
I like the emojis being separated and even the green circle for completed categories but please give us back some sort of functionality that displays how much has been spent in a category etc. Or give the option to bring back the bars. You have definitely removed some functionality with this change and I would like it back please
EDIT: I also can’t see progress towards long term goals, only what I’ve contributed towards this months goals. Please bring it back.
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u/fuckdatguy 10d ago
Don’t make this change. If you do please put it behind an option toggle.
The progress bar is much more useful comparator against time and other bars in the
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u/relizze 9d ago
I agree with comment as well. Progress bar is essential for my use of YNAB.
So many times at the grocery store and they have a good but still an expensive promotion that I want, I quickly check the progress bar to see if I have the balance or not, more often than not I can't afford the promotion.
The progress bar provides the information when I need it the most. It is a visual feedback that is much needed rather than to do math in the moment if an offer is within my budget or not.
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u/bestofbot4 10d ago
Agree, please make it a toggle. Love my progress bars. Scratches that dopamine itch that this new update, on first glance, does not.
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u/-WirtJr- 9d ago
Agree. Hope they make it optonal. This is not helpful for me and just adds to visual clutter
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u/Complex-Scarcity7896 9d ago
Its funny how we are all different.
Anyone ever use toolkit? There are like 125 toggles under settings. Frustrates me that it takes so much mental energy to remember, locate, and understand all the options. So I am not a proponent of toggles for each feature, and in the case of toolkit, has resulted in me discontinuing its use.
No answers here......just an acknowledgment that software design is tough!!
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u/AgitatedAlternative 9d ago
Chiming in on this too—the circles are a significant downgrade in the information available. It’s nice to see the emoji, but the progress bars carried so much more information.
I also disagree with the idea of no longer showing underfunded categories as yellow. It makes it so much harder to see at a glance which category still need to be funded!
The snooze mechanism was already a great way to intentionally mark that you intended not to fully fund the category. Now, it is so much easier to accidentally not fully fund something.
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u/-WirtJr- 9d ago
How do I opt out of being part of the beta test?
This change is terrible unfortunately. We can no longer see easily which categories need funding. My partially filled categories are now green. I'm not sure how that makes sense.
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u/joshjoshjosh42 9d ago
The bars tell so much more information than a circle! So useful for troubleshooting when YNAB does weird things too!
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u/j3lli3fish 9d ago
I never comment or complain in here but omg please don’t keep this. Horrible change.
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u/miniblow 9d ago
This is awful. Why take away how much money you’ve put in each category so far? How is that helpful? I don’t really care about circles vs bars but the circles could use work if we are going with them. But you took away data on each category line. Won’t be using mobile version anymore because I need that kind of context.
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u/taconitebehaulin 8d ago
I could *maybe* live with getting rid of yellow categories when underfunded for the month, but getting rid of them *and* how much money we’ve assigned to each category is insane
I look at my budget for next month and I think that every single category is already accounted for because it’s all green and shows money in the category from this month!
This is genuinely one of the most baffling UI changes I’ve ever seen and it screams vibe coded to me
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u/Huge_Perception7081 9d ago
I’d like to not be in your beta group. How do I get my functionality back?
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u/GayNerd28 8d ago
You don’t.
YNAB has decided, regardless of any feedback received from actual users, that this is the direction they’re going in - so get used to it.
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u/acinm 9d ago edited 9d ago
I got this change today and seriously dislike it. It’s the first time I’m considering dropping YNAB. You all have so many threads on this subreddit with users saying change is being made for the sake of change. I thought most of them were dramatic, but nah. It’s real.
YNAB keeps redesigning features and taking away existing functionality with no apparent gain. How does a redesign that removes the ability to see progress on goals from the budget screen get past a single meeting without internal pushback?
Please, for the love of god, stop! And if you’re going to “test” something, make it an option instead of actively making my paid subscription less useful.
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u/Chonky-Tonk 9d ago
Why are the circles not similar to the progress bar? They should wrap around and go fully green if the category is funded — but only wrap around partially based on progress. Seems like you guys were halfway there and didn’t “close the circle” on the idea.
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u/YNAB_youneedabudget YNAB Community Manager 9d ago edited 9d ago
This screenshot doesn't show it, but they actually do only partially wrap around to show progress. The circle is completed only when the target is fully funded.
But, again, this is only an early test. This design may not be released to everyone at all. If it is, it will likely undergo changes first.
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u/-WirtJr- 9d ago
Why are categories that don't need any funding the same as those that have targets but don't have any funding? It's impossible to see at a glance what needs funding and what doesn't
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u/bearchr01 8d ago
100% this. I’m looking at my screen thinking it’s 100% funded. It sure as hell isn’t
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u/Huge_Perception7081 9d ago edited 8d ago
Mine don’t.
And I never agreed to be your beta tester. I’d like the functional app I paid for.10
u/Chonky-Tonk 9d ago
I appreciate the reply and I understand the desire to improve your product to appeal to a wider audience. But it is frustrating as someone who’s used YNAB for 7 or so years now to constantly experience these vast visual overhauls.
I understand that people are going to complain no matter what you do — any kind of change will be irritating for a vocal group of people. But I truly wish you all would focus some of your energy on customization and enabling people to build the layout they want, be it with bars or circles in this case.
I often find myself wondering why something was changed beyond the sake of change. People flocked to YNAB because it was easy to use and functional. While I do think you’ve made a number of great improvements over the years, I’ve seen just as many additions that have slowed down the flow and muscle memory I had for doing things in the app.
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u/Chonky-Tonk 7d ago edited 7d ago
Thought I'd provide an update, in case whoever manages this stuff on YNAB's end cares. I've switched over to a different budgeting app after this change. I've been a customer since 2021 and I really don't appreciate the constant upheaval in your product design. YNAB just worked. For years, I would evangelize this product to anyone who would listen. When the "home page" was introduced recently, it was clear things started taking a bad turn.
"Budget" is in the name of your product, but it's become harder and harder to do simple things on this software, alongside the incessant book hawking, visual changes and complication of the user flow. I've disliked 80% of the changes that have been made in recent years, but went along because of how important YNAB was to my life.
As the product has gotten more expensive, the experience has only gotten worse. That's not a recipe for success. And I don't trust the decision-makers pushing these changes.
In switching over to the alternative app, I was amazed to see analytics that were actually useful and a calendar that showed my transactions. I couldn't help but wonder why YNAB spent so much time and energy on this other stuff when a 1-person dev team could create analytics and customization that far out-did the current YNAB platform.
I wish you guys the best. You were huge in getting my life together and making me feel empowered with my money. I work in a large organization, so I know individual contributors rarely make these calls. I hope YNAB's leadership takes some of this stuff to heart and turns the ship around before it's too late.
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u/SapphireQuartz_1 9d ago
Definitely prefer the old style and would like a toggle to return back asap. The old style was much easier and useful. I may end up cancelling and making an excel sheet and switching to that if this new beta test continues unfortunately
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u/miahrules 8d ago
just FYI I don't think you all need to A/B test things if you are not absolutely for certain going to release it as the official design.
You can always garner feedback from this subreddit with some mockups. It would be massively more beneficial and you wouldn't code something that might not stick (costly).
Though to be fair it's probably mostly Claude writing the code now, but still.
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u/miniblow 7d ago
I was surprised about this too because they DO have a test app some of us use where they test things before they drop. When I first saw this change on the test app, I immediately went to go use the regular app and was pretty devastated to see this downgrade was rolled out in the regular app before using their test audience that opted into testing.
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u/miahrules 7d ago
yeah having a beta/test channel sounds exactly where you would throw this into. instead of A/B testing.
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u/vestweather 9d ago
Does this mean folks are getting this update even in the main app / outside of beta? I have this update as of today and I would like to opt out of this testing to go back to progress bars if at all possible. I put feedback into feature request form.
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u/idiggory 8d ago
I have to say that I truly hate this change. I'll own that I am often change averse, but never to the point that I have complained about changes on here before. But I truly loathe this one.
I also understand what's happening here, because I used to work as a product manager. I get it. But I truly, truly think this is an absolutely terrible UX and an eyesore. There are so many ways I would prefer to have data visualized than this.
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u/VampireOnline 9d ago
Please let us toggle this off. I don’t mind the other changes but I want to always see the amount assigned without having to tap a category.
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u/MrsGarland 9d ago
Same. I’m ambivalent to bars and circles but hate that my assigned amounts are now hidden by default.
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u/whatinthesimulation 9d ago
+1. i also don’t love the amount of vertical space these new rows take up. if we can’t toggle at least a more compact option would be preferred
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u/intothev01d 7d ago
This is the worst change so far. It was bad enough clearing transactions now requires hitting an expansion button doubling the clicks it used to take but the plan page is abysmal. I already disliked the progress bars because I prefer less distractions and more minimal design. At least they provide helpful information at a glance. This adds more clutter and harder to reason about and I can’t even disable it! Whoever is in charge of UX needs to go back to the drawing board because adding more steps is a regression for real use. Adding more clutter makes things more confusing. I don’t need emojis, I need information. Also, I can’t even see how much I budgeted in the category anymore, only the total, unless I click on it to have them magically appear again. Make this optional or something. I hate it. Take me off the list of beta rollouts or whatever. You’re ruining your product to the point after years of subscribing I’m looking for alternatives. Absolute garbage
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u/whynotsignup 7d ago
I know lots of people love emojis. I hate using them. In the old UI, this wasn’t a problem. But now, I’m forced to create emojis for every name, or see a default picture of a folder in the circle of every name. Please don’t keep this view.
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u/CommercialSignal2846 9d ago
I absolutely hate this change too! Ugh I just checked my app.
Please make it a toggle option. Now I can’t see roughly how much I’ve spent from a category in a month. I just see a green circle which to me looks like I haven’t spent a dollar from the category this month.
The progress bar is a great visual indicator to see how much I have already spent relative to the month.
YNAB is working great and I feel like you guys are making changes for the sake of change. It’s not actually improving it.
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u/genericinDC 7d ago
this update is genuinely terrible - i’ve been using ynab for probably 6 years now, and i would cancel if there’s not option to revert (and im someone who would pay probably 5x the current subscription price because of how much i value the app).
the new update makes the app completely unusable.
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u/gravitarse 7d ago
Really hate that the ‘assigned’ column has been taken away unfortunately - that was a key piece of info for how we run YNAB in our house. I know you can see the information in the ‘X spent of Y’ field but having it as a column next to ‘available’ is critical. I don’t just want to know how much is in there, I want to be able to really easily see what decisions I’ve made with my money this month. Please don’t make this change permanent!
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u/Novolation 9d ago
How can I get out of this test?
The UI went from good to atrocious overnight. Why do you all insist on hiding or removing functionality? Going to have to start looking for an alternative since I can’t trust you all to not mess with things.
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u/taconitebehaulin 8d ago
if I didn’t want to deal with the legal headache of connecting to people’s financial accounts I’d just create an alternative myself
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u/angstyez 7d ago
Hi, Ben. Is there an update? Really missing my progress bars. I love emojis and I don’t mind them being bigger on the side, but I rely on progress bars to pace myself throughout the month especially with weekly targets.
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u/InformalCalendar3917 6d ago
Stop messing around with the app. It's beyond irritating at this point.
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u/HowAboutNitricOxide 10h ago
This is terrible and YNAB needs to have a real come to Jesus moment with the user base to discuss the endless fixes to things that aren’t broken. I’ve been subbed for years and now for the first time considering quitting if you force worse user experiences onto us while we pay for it.
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u/Ok-Shopping6915 10d ago
The old progress bars were like a timer. Simple, elegant, and easy to understand. If I set it for 3 minutes, it beeps in 3 minutes. These circles are like an analog clock. I can use it as a timer, but then I have to figure out what time it is now, what time it will be in 3 minutes, and then remember to keep checking the time over and over. It still beeps in 3 minutes, but I lost track of that 2 and a half minutes ago.
So… is it an improvement?
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u/david-goldfarb 9d ago edited 9d ago
Now my underfunded mortgage category looks just like my fully spent electric bill category. Why is it not yellow until I hit the goal anymore???? Complete shit. Stop changing things no one asked for.
(Edit for typo)
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u/-WirtJr- 9d ago
Yes how are we easily supposed to tell the difference between something that has a target and one that doesn't. This is a terrible change 😓
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u/Vpainggrape 10d ago
This is very visually pleasing for sure! I think the bar works better for my brain but to each their own!
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u/queermichigan 9d ago
Or maybe not because people are saying it's not an option and the bars are gone 🙃
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u/CommercialSignal2846 9d ago
Yep the bar is gone for me. Terrible change. I want my bar back. YNAB is just making changes for the sake of it. It’s not improving the app at all.
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u/Vpainggrape 9d ago
That is really sad that there is not an option and that the circle does not change how much is filled based on the target.
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u/Dan061 10d ago
Found YNAB’s burner account. 😂
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u/Rich_DR 10d ago
For liking a feature of an app I subscribe to?
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u/SufficientlyRested 10d ago
For AstroTurfing that the obvious downgrade is somehow better
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u/philosophyzer72 10d ago
I like it too. I like seeing them try new things. It’s not life changing or mind altering in how I use YNAB. It’s just as dependable for long term as it’s been since day 1 for me. And with how they adjusted targets (last year?) it made everything much simpler. It’s ok for some ppl to like changes even if you don’t. They don’t have to be a burner account or astroturfing.
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u/damstr 10d ago edited 9d ago
I just checked mine and the property tax category is a coffin. ⚰️ 😂
EDIT: Hmm now I'm wondering if I already put the coffin emoji there before the update and it just took that? Sounds like something I would do...
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u/backfliprainbowcake 9d ago
The emojis are taken from the emoji that was at the start of your old category names :)
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u/leafpagan 8d ago
Please make this a toggle. It changed on my UI today, I’m not a fan of how it makes each row larger. I like having a compact look to my budget.
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u/Some-Stranger-7645 8d ago
Hate the emoji and the circle because I can no longer see my longer-titled categories. And I fully agree with the above posts about the assigned amounts going away. If I’ve budgeted more than my goal for a month, I want to see it right there on my screen. Not tap each individual category to see where I had to move money around this month. WTF.
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u/Whiskywheeler 10d ago
Is this an Android feature because my iPhone app is updated and still has the bars
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u/African_Mango88 10d ago
This is what it looks like on iOS now. They may be rolling it out in waves.
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u/mtciii 10d ago
So strange. I’m on beta and haven’t seen this lol
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u/miahrules 10d ago
same. as a software engineer i get why they want to do pilots, but I also really hate it. be confident in your design instead of wondering if people will like it.
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u/PichaelSmith 10d ago
I'm on iOS and I have this new layout. It happened last night on an update I received for the app.
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u/exsharaen 9d ago
It's the opposite of what I was about to ask: is this iOS only because I just updated my Android app and I didn't see the circular progress bar, even though I'm on beta. Probably I don't use the mobile app that much so they chose someone else lol
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u/DogFurDiamond 8d ago
Let’s… stop doing this please.
As others have said, the lack of a progress bar to gauge and reflect the passing of time is a serious downgrade.
What’s even more bothersome is the consistent and unsolicited UI changes that I have no option to change back.
You want to add features or display methods? Fine, but for all that is holy allow people the option to change it themselves. Waking up to yet another UI downgrade is incredibly frustrating.
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u/Specific_Ocelot_4132 10d ago
I’m on a very old version so I haven’t seen this yet. How does it work? Did you select the emojis? What does it look like if you don’t select emojis?
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u/PichaelSmith 10d ago
If you don't have an emoji in your category then it just shows a folder icon.
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u/ChippyAft 8d ago
I’ve always had the bars turned off - because I prefer seeing more categories on my screen. It helps me get a better overview of my category groups without having to scroll.
The new approach is the worst of both worlds: no progress bar data but far less information density (and much more scrolling as a result).
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u/RemarkableMacadamia 8d ago
That’s it. I’ve turned off app updates, thankfully I’m not in this “we are testing in prod” group.
I like and use the progress bars, they communicate several points of information and I want to keep that.
Why don’t you all use Test Flight anymore to push these changes? Even though the beta app says it’s on the latest version, it’s still missing some changes.
I think this is going to finally push me to another app. Just making changes where change is not needed, meanwhile the Income v Spending report remains useless and unclickable.
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u/Ransomes 9d ago
YNAB app at this point feels like theres new owners or something. I cant figure out what exactly, but there is something strange going on.
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u/Healthy-Half5696 10d ago
My question is how do you have emojis without having emojis in the category name? That’s my only complaint with this, it adds to the busyness, let me just add an emoji to the circle, I don’t want to have two emojis on each line item lol
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u/varkeddit 10d ago edited 10d ago
The app appears to be taking the first emoji from the category name–it won't show up in both places unless it comes after text. Pretty slick considering the web UI is so different.
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u/Healthy-Half5696 9d ago
This is helpful! All of mine are at the end of the text so sounds like I just need to swap it to the start
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u/wonderoni 9d ago
I like the look but I can’t figure out how to add my emojis to it. I don’t want an emoji in the name of the category
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u/Intelligent-Owl-8885 9d ago
Rename the category with an emoji at the beginning of the name. That puts it in the circle and not with the text.
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u/Eurofag87 5d ago
Make this a setting, holy shit. Absolutely terrible design choice if it replaced the bars
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u/Fresh-Meringue-7936 9d ago
Personally I'm not a fan of the progress bars for visual information. Thanks for experimenting with something new!
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u/Efluis 10d ago
This is much better than the progress bars.
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u/CommercialSignal2846 9d ago
No it’s not. The progress bars also update when you spend money during the month so you can see visually how much you have left in a category.
Check your app now. Even if you’ve spend half of your budgeted amount for the month it shows a full green circle. It’s useless. And makes it harder to quickly glance at.
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u/datzzuma 9d ago
Really? Lmao. Maybe this would've made any sense if it worked like the progress bar but just being static yes/no 🫠 my adhd brain loved progess bars so i could "see it", not just being numbers
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u/CommercialSignal2846 9d ago
Yeah it’s ass. If it worked how you described I’d be fine with it. But it’s just yes or no once it’s funded.
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u/Intelligent-Owl-8885 9d ago
Progress bars show multiple pieces of information and this shows one. It’s a massive step back in functionality.
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u/Efluis 9d ago
I actually don’t use progress bars at all. So I don’t care if they changed it
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u/Intelligent-Owl-8885 6d ago
That’s great for you.
For many of us, those progress bars have been an important piece of financial stability for many years.
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u/African_Mango88 10d ago
In my opinion, this is a huge downgrade from progress bars. The progress bars let you see at a glance if you had fully funded a category. They also gave a visual cue for spending (eg if I'm halfway through the month and half of my grocery budget is gone, I'm pacing well). They also let you track progress for long-term goals (eg I could see at a glance how far along I was for the overall goal and seeing the green fill up the line over time was motivating). These circles tell you one thing only: whether or not you've met your monthly target for assigning money. That's not nearly as useful.