According to the FTC, in 2014 Snapchat was caught making false promises to consumers about the amount of content it was collecting and saving about them. This deception led to an FTC settlement that was announced in December of 2014 that prohibits Snapchat from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains the privacy, security, or confidentiality of users' information.
Unfortunately, this settlement has not yet encouraged Snapchat to become a company that actually cares about user privacy and personal safety. For example, Marketwatch.com has reported that Snapchat recently changed its terms of service and the update appears to be very similar to Facebook's terms. Snapchat's new policy states,
"But you grant Snapchat a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, use, display, reproduce, modify, adapt, edit, publish, create derivative works from, publicly perform, broadcast, distribute, syndicate, promote, exhibit, and publicly display that content in any form and in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed)."
and
"To the extent it’s necessary, you also grant Snapchat and our business partners the unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual right and license to use your name, likeness, and voice in any and all media and distribution channels (now known or later developed) in connection with any Live Story or other crowd-sourced content you create, upload, post, send, or appear in. This means, among other things, that you will not be entitled to any compensation from Snapchat or our business partners if your name, likeness, or voice is conveyed through the Services."
In other words, these terms allow Snapchat to publicly display user content and utilize personal data in ways many users most likely do not understand nor would they knowingly agree to. Will Snapchat soon include a clear warning message in front of its app stating that its new terms harm user privacy and safety? I highly doubt it....:)
I do not trust services that contain the above or similar terms. Whether its words, photos, or videos, your content is not private nor safe when the above terms govern. If you don't trust Facebook because of its privacy killing agreements with data brokers you shouldn't trust Snapchat. It appears not to be a question of if, but when Snapchat enters into similar privacy killing agreements with data brokers. Will the FTC soon open an investigation into these new terms?
The bottom line is that if you care about your personal privacy and safety you should avoid utilizing Snapchat.
I do not trust services that contain the above or similar terms. Whether its words, photos, or videos, your content is not private nor safe when the above terms govern. If you don't trust Facebook because of its privacy killing agreements with data brokers you shouldn't trust Snapchat. It appears not to be a question of if, but when Snapchat enters into similar privacy killing agreements with data brokers. Will the FTC soon open an investigation into these new terms?
The bottom line is that if you care about your personal privacy and safety you should avoid utilizing Snapchat.
Copyright 2015 by The Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.