Snapchat has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over charges that it deceived customers about the disappearing nature of messages sent through its ephemeral messaging service, while also collecting users' contacts without telling them or asking permission.
The FTC said that Snapchat, which allows users to send messages that self-destruct moments after opening them, misled its users about the company's data collection methods and failed to tell them that others could save their messages without their knowledge.
Although Snapchat said its app notified users when a recipient takes a screenshot of a "snap" they've sent, the FTC said recipients with an Apple device that runs an operating system that predates iOS 7 could evade the app's screenshot detection.
In addition, the FTC said Snapchat's app stored video snaps that were not encrypted on the recipient's device. The videos remained accessible to the recipient, the agency said. A user could access a video message, even after it supposedly disappeared, if the user simply connected the phone to a computer and accessed the video in the device's file directory.
The FTC complaint also alleges that Snapchat failed to secure its "find friends" feature. A security breach in January allowed hackers to collect the usernames and phone numbers of some 4.6 million Snapchat users.
Not admitting or denying any wrongdoing, Snapchat agreed to settle and said it has addressed many of the issues the FTC raised.
