Robinhood is removing its confetti celebrations ahead of its IPO

Robinhood is cutting out the confetti from its stock trading app, following accusations that the animation helped to “gamify” investing. Instead, the company is adding new animations that will celebrate trading milestones for users in a more somber manner.

The celebratory digital confetti showers have been a controversial part of Robinhood’s app since 2016. In the past, Robinhood has argued that the friendly features “help investing fit easily into people’s lives.” But others — including the Massachusetts Securities Division — have argued that the confetti (along with other features, like free stock promotions) help to “gamify” stock trading for amateur investors who may not understand what they’re getting into.

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