When Snapchat first hit the scene, it made unequivocal promises that photos sent through the app would "disappear forever" after a few seconds. As it turns out, that wasn't exactly true, and now the company is paying the price for misleading users.
As part of a new settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, announced Thursday, Snapchat will be required to implement a comprehensive privacy program and submit to monitoring from an "independent privacy professional" for the next 20 years. The FTC case alleged that Snapchat deceived consumers about the disappearing nature of messages, as well as the amount of personal data it collected, and the security measures taken to protect data.
In its complaint, the FTC further alleged that Snapchat's failure to secure its Find Friends feature lead to the New Year's Eve data breach of 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers.
"If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement. "Any company that makes misrepresentations to consumers about its privacy and security practices risks FTC action."
In a blog post Thursday, Snapchat acknowledged that it could have done a better job with respect to privacy and security.
"When we started building Snapchat, we were focused on developing a unique, fast, and fun way to communicate with photos," the company said. "While we were focused on building, some things didn't get the attention they could have. One of those was being more precise with how we communicated with the Snapchat community."
Snapchat said it has been working over the past year to resolve most of the FTC's concerns by improving the wording of its privacy policy, app description, and in-app notifications. The company promised to continue investing heavily in security to prevent abuse.
"We are devoted to promoting user privacy and giving Snapchatters control over how and with whom they communicate," Snapchat said. "That's something we've always taken seriously, and always will."
Despite Snapchat's previous claims to the contrary, users can easily save snaps indefinitely through the use of third-party apps and other simple tricks, the FTC said. The agency also alleged that video snaps were stored on users' devices unencrypted, and remained accessible by simply connecting the handset to a computer.
Furthermore, Snapchat promised users they would be notified if a recipient took a screenshot of their snap, when this was not always true, the FTC said. In reality, anyone with an Apple device running an OS pre-dating iOS 7 could use a simple method to evade the app's screenshot detection and the sender would not be notified. Among other claims, the FTC said Snapchat collected contact information from iOS users' address books without their notice or consent.
As part of its settlement with the FTC, Snapchat is prohibited from misrepresenting its security and privacy policies in the future. The company could face fines if it violates the order.
Meanwhile, the settlement comes after Snapchat last week rolled out a major update, adding new text- and video-based chat functions.
Also watch PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses the Snapchat fine.