Just because messages and videos on Snapchat sent in Chat disappear
after being read doesn't mean that this content is safely hidden from
prying eyes. According to Motherboard (via SlashGear),
this data does end up on Snapchat's servers, even if for a brief period
of time. And apparently, some employees of Snap (Snapchat's publicly
traded parent company) used a special tool to access this content.
Using a tool called SnapLion, created to help law enforcement
access information from Snapchat accounts (with a court order or
subpoena), some Snap employees were able to access customer data. Snaps
that had not yet been deleted, location data, email addresses, and phone
numbers were allegedly viewed illegally by people working for the
company. These allegations were made by former Snap employees.
Not
every person working for the firm uses the SnapLion tool illegally. It
is employed by Snapchat's security team and those inside the company who
are looking out for members who create abusive posts that bully, harass
or spam other members. Snapchat monitors those who use the tool, but
apparently, this is not a perfect system according to a former employee.
Another person who used to work for Snap said that having access to
SnapLion was like owning "the keys to the kingdom."
A
Snap employee wouldn't admit that the SnapLion tool was abused by
employees, but did say that the company had a "good system in place" to
prevent such things from occurring "most likely earlier than any startup
in existence."
Snap did issue a statement
in which it claims to hold on to only a small amount of user data. The
company added that its "robust policies and controls" limit who can see
it and anyone employee who views the information without proper
authorization is immediately fired.
"Protecting privacy is paramount at Snap. We keep very little user data,
and we have robust policies and controls to limit internal access to
the data we do have. Unauthorized access of any kind is a clear
violation of the company's standards of business conduct and, if
detected, results in immediate termination."-Snap spokesman
This past January, Snapchat added
end-to-end encryption three years after Amnesty International had
Snapchat ranked as one of the least protected messaging apps in terms of
member privacy.
Source: phonearena.com
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