Finch app users left confused after task icons get swapped out with ants, toilet paper and other random items

Users of the popular self-care app Finch have found themselves scratching their heads this week after a recent update seemingly swapped out familiar task icons for bizarrely random images. Finch, an app designed to help users build routines and track goals through nurturing a virtual pet, relies on visual cues, including icons, to represent daily tasks. But suddenly, those icons aren’t quite what users remember.

Reports surfaced across online communities, particularly Reddit, where users began sharing their strange icon transformations. Tasks like “take meds,” previously represented by a pill bottle or chocolate bar, inexplicably turned into an ant emoji for many users. One user, AndrogynousGaia, expressed frustration, stating the ant icon change was particularly unwelcome: “I hate bugs. They make my skin crawl.” They also noted their “update spending log” task went from a money bag to a guitar, highlighting the seemingly random nature of the swaps.

The changes weren’t limited to medication reminders. User BigFeed9967 shared that their icon for cleaning their room, once a bed, was now toilet paper. Others reported equally baffling changes: brushing teeth became a camel, taking vitamins turned into pancakes, and a reading goal was represented by a koala. User PolitePatrice shared an image of their task “Tell hubby I’m grateful for him,” previously a heart, which had become an unidentifiable object speculated by others to be falafel. PolitePatrice commented, “Still have no idea how they got falafel from his name, it doesn’t even have a F in it”.

This unexpected shift has caused confusion and some irritation, especially as Finch is often used to establish consistency and manage mental well-being. The visual disruption throws off established routines for some. Adding to the frustration, users on the app’s free tier found they couldn’t easily change the icons back to something more relevant.

While some users found humor in the situation, like yuudamaris who thought the camel icon for brushing teeth “was funny,” many others expressed a desire for things to return to normal or at least an explanation for the odd substitutions. As user TangledInBooks noted about the ubiquitous ant icon for medication tasks, “This is happening to everyone, same emoji. I’m so confused why the ant is the one chosen”. For now, Finch users are left navigating their daily goals alongside these new, perplexing digital companions.