FTC Slaps Snapchat with 20-Year Privacy Monitor

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

FTC settles charges with Snapchat

At the conclusion of a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission approved a final order settling charges that Snapchat deceive consumers in regards to the way messages sent through the video and chat service supposedly disappear. As part of the settlement, Snapchat is required to implement a comprehensive privacy program that will be monitored by an independent privacy professional for the next 20 years.
The settlement is the result of a complaint dating back to last May over the app's promise of "disappearing" messages, which was found to be misleading since there are a number of different ways to retrieve, save, or otherwise capture pictures that were thought to be gone forever.
Snapchat's relatively rapid rise in popularity led to separate reported $1 billion and $3 billion buyout offers from Facebook, both of which the picture and video messaging service turned down. However, its success also put it in the spotlight -- in addition to drawing ire for misrepresenting the disappearing nature of messages, Snapchat found itself in trouble for the amount of private information collected. It was also criticized for an exploit that compromised the unsernames and phone numbers of 4.6 million people.
As part of the settlement, Snapchat agreed that it "shall not misrepresent in any manner, expressly or by implication, in or affecting commerce, the extent to which respondent or its products or services maintain and protect the privacy, security, or confidentiality of any covered information" dealing with deleted messages and other aspects of the app.
You can read the full settlement here (PDF).
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