Snap a picture, send it to your friend with a short caption, and once they’ve seen it, it’s gone forever. That’s the simple premise of the app SnapChat, one of the most popular iPhone apps among teens. It is advertised as a safe way to send photos and make sure they are never seen by anyone but the person receiving them. But this may not be the case at all.
The danger of SnapChat is the illusion that your pictures disappear forever, but even though they are deleted from your friend’s phone, every photo you send over SnapChat is saved in the company’s files, and becomes part of the company’s assets. It’s never publicized that this happens, but it is written in the terms and agreements- which no one reads. What this means is that if the rights to SnapChat are ever sold, so are your pictures.
Are these pictures ever going to be used without your permission? Probably not. But the real danger is that when teens think their pictures will vanish, they get careless, and take photos they wouldn’t want resurfacing at a later date. I’m talking about sexting here. Not only is it illegal for a minor to send inappropriate photos in the first place, but there is an added risk when those could be found by a third party.
Even if the images are saved by the company, they won’t come up for a few years, surely. Keep in mind that your images are not as safe as you think, right now. SnapChat promises that the pictures can’t be saved, but a person with quick fingers can easily take a screenshot. Your snapchat pic can be saved and posted elsewhere less than a minute after you hit send.
But some would wonder, what if I’m using it innocently? Just taking a funny shot of my cat and sending it to my best friend? Well you are probably safe. But be careful not to be tempted into using it carelessly. If you would rather be safe than sorry, just delete it.