Snapchat admits deleted photos aren’t really deleted
The photo-messaging app claimed that photos were automatically erased as soon as recipients saw them, but that’s not really the case.
Oh, snap! Those pics and videos you sent through Snapchat that you thought were gone forever? Yeah, not quite.
Snapchat, the photo-messaging app that became popular largely due to the fact that it auto-deletes the file seconds after the receiver sees it, has apparently been misleading users.
The company was forced to reveal to the Federal Trade Commission that images sent through the app are not exactly permanently deleted. From The Drum:
The FTC points out that third-party apps can be used to log into the Snapchat service, and because the deletion feature only functions in the official Snapchat app, recipients can view and save snaps indefinitely.
The revelation was made during an FTC complaint accusing the app service of secretly recording users’ physical location and allowing hackers to steal 4.6 million user names and phone numbers. Snapchat has agreed to settle those charges.
Snapchat copped to the shady practice in a recent blog post:
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