Snapchat is one of the most popular social media services right now, with users sharing more photos on the platform than both Facebook and Instagram. Because it has reached such a massive scale, it's more important than ever for users to be mindful of security while using the self-destructingphoto app.
The "Snappening" — 200,000 ImagesLeaked
Last October, some 200,000 Snapchat photos were obtained by hackers and released publicly on the Web. The incidentwas dubbed the "Snappening" — a nod to the Fappening, the name given to the massive iCloud celebrity photo leak that occurred in September. Snapchat immediately responded to the news, noting that its servers were not breached and that the fault lies on unauthorized third-party apps:
"Snapchatters were victimized by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our users’ security. We vigilantly monitor the App Store and Google Play for illegal third-party apps and have succeeded in getting many of these removed." — Snapchat
Shortly thereafter, third-party app Snapsaved stepped forward and took responsibility for the hack, noting that it resulted from a server misconfiguration on their part. Snapsaved immediately shut down its website and database to prevent further hacking attempts.
What can we learn from this? Quite simply, don't use unauthorized third-party apps for Snapchat — or any service, for that matter. Snapchat has the resources to keep your photos and data safe from prying eyes, while the developers of small third-party apps do not.
Butjust because you're not using a third-party app doesn't mean your photos will vanish into oblivion...
Snapchat Photos Don't Really "Disappear"
I don't want to dog on Snapchat here — I'm a fan of the app — but it's important for usersto understand what's going on under the hood when theysend and receive "vanishing" messages.
In order to view a photo on Snapchat, there must be an image file somewhere, right? Well, it turns out that Snapchat doesn't delete that image file from your device after it expires.
As you can see in the video above, it's not too hard to recover expired Snapchat images using a simple file browser. And, unlike taking a screenshot, this method is untraceable. But it's not just the recipient you need to worry about — it is theoretically possible for some malicious code to locate and extract those files from your device without your knowledge. This is an unlikely scenario, mind you, but it's definitely within the realm of possibility.
The lesson here is obvious: Snapchat is not a safe-haven for your most private communications. It's not a good idea to share anything there that you wouldn't wantthe world to see.
Why You Shouldn't View Leaked Snapchat Photos
When things like the Snappening happen,the Internet explodes with coverage of the incident — often linking to various places where you can view the stolen images. You probably shouldn't do that, though.
There are obvious ethical problemswith downloading and viewing leakedimages — if you weren't the original recipient, they're not for your eyes — but if that's not enough to stop you, perhaps legal trouble is.
By some estimates, 50 percent of Snapchat users are between the ages of 13 and 17. This means any mass release of stolen Snapchat images is likely to contain child p*rnography. People who downloaded the Snappening files confirmed this.
One 4chan user had this to say:
I highly suggest you don't download this sh*t. I deleted it as soon as I saw how much [child p*rnography] there is on it, don't be a part of the snappening, don't seed it, don't share it, just get rid of it.
Anyone found to be in possession of such images are subject to child p*rnography charges in the U.S. and a number of other countries.
You Can Use Snapchat Safely
Once again, the most important thing you can do to useSnapchat safely is avoid sharing anything that could ruin your life or embarrass you if it got leaked.It's also wise to avoid unauthorized third-party apps, as they present an unnecessary security risk. And please, for the love of all that is holy, don't download or view stolen Snapchat photos!
Do you use Snapchat? What do you think about the Snappening? Do you have any other tips to add? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
