This is a much debated topic and while designers, developers mostly agree on when it is a good idea to use a navigational drawer and when not there are still a lot of mobile apps that rely on this pattern. It usually boils down to the fact that there is no place to put navigation on a small screen, because it lacks a well thought out information architecture or just because of the sheer amount of content.

If your app gets too complex, think about unbundling. Look at what Facebook did with Messenger. They broke out functionality around key actions and put it in their own separate app.

Hamburger menus drive engagement down, slow down exploration and confuse people. If you are reading this, it won’t confuse you, but it damn will confuse others who might be happy to consume your content.

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