Snapchat Settles FCC Charges For ‘Deceiving Users’

Messaging app service Snapchat has reached a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), following charges that it “deceived” its users.

Snapchat now faces 20 years of scrutiny by the FTC for misleading its users over deleted messages and data collection.

Snapshot Allegations

“Snapchat, the developer of a popular mobile messaging app, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers with promises about the disappearing nature of messages sent through the service,” said the FTC in its ruling. “The FTC case also alleged that the company deceived consumers over the amount of personal data it collected and the security measures taken to protect that data from misuse and unauthorised disclosure.”

The FTC said that Snapchat had made multiple misrepresentations to consumers about its product that stood in stark contrast to how the app actually worked.

“If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “Any company that makes misrepresentations to consumers about its privacy and security practices risks FTC action.”

The problem stems from the company touting its “ephemeral” nature of “snaps,” the term used to describe photo and video messages sent via the app. Essentially, Snapchat made the mistake of promising that the user’s snaps would “disappear forever” after the sender-designated time period expired. But in reality, recipients could save snaps indefinitely.

The FTC cites the example of recipients using third-party apps to log into the Snapchat service. Apparently, Snapchat’s automatic deletion features only works in the official Snapchat app, but recipients can use widely available third-party apps to view and save snaps indefinitely.

And to make matters worse, a security researcher has already warned the company about this possibility, but “Snapchat continued to misrepresent that the sender controls how long a recipient can view a snap.”

Data Protection

The FTC case also includes a number of other serious allegations against the messaging app service.

This includes video snaps being stored unencrypted and in a location where they could be accessed via computer. Snapchat also “deceptively told its users that the sender would be notified if a recipient took a screenshot of a snap. In fact, any recipient with an Apple device that has an operating system pre-dating iOS 7 can use a simple method to evade the app’s screenshot detection, and the app will not notify the sender.”

And Snapchat was accused of misrepresenting its data collection practices, by transmitting geolocation information from users of its Android app, despite saying in its privacy policy that it did not track or access such information.

Snapchat also collected iOS users’ contacts information from their address books without notice or consent. And finally the FTC said that Snapchat had not taken reasonable security steps to secure its “Find Friends” feature. This flaw allowed hackers to publish the usernames and telephone numbers of 4.6 million Snapchat users in December.

FTC Sanctions

“Under the terms of its settlement with the FTC, Snapchat will be prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains the privacy, security, or confidentiality of users’ information,” said the FTC. “In addition, the company will be required to implement a comprehensive privacy program that will be monitored by an independent privacy professional for the next 20 years.”

Earlier this month, Snapchat revealed it is adding video calls and text chat, bringing it into closer competition with the likes of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. It has also recently hired a senior engineer from Google to head up its development efforts.

Snapchat was developed in 2011 by a group of Stanford University and its rapid rise in popularity has been attributed to ‘sexting’, although many users enjoy sending photos of a tamer nature as well.

Late last year, its founders reportedly turned down a $3 billion (£1.8bn) takeover offer from Facebook, which was concerned that users, particularly those with smartphones, were bypassing the social network to communicate and send photos.

This fear was one of the main reasons Facebook bought Instagram for £630 million in 2012 and the popularity of WhatsApp for text conversations fueled Mark Zuckerberg’s firm’s £11.4 billion takeover of WhatsApp in February.

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