Snapchat Settles FTC Charges
Mobile Messaging App Developer Will Face Privacy Monitoring for 20 Years
The FTC said Snapchat also is settling commission charges that it misrepresented its data collection practices. Photo: Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
By BRENT KENDALL and ELIZABETH DWOSKIN
Mobile messaging app developer Snapchat has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers about the disappearing nature of the messages sent through its service.
The FTC said Snapchat also is settling commission charges that it misrepresented its data collection practices and didn't employ reasonable security measures to protect users' personal information.
Snapchat agreed to a settlement that prohibits it from making future misrepresentations about the privacy, security or confidentiality of users' information, the FTC said Thursday. The commission said the company also will be required to implement a privacy program that will be subject to monitoring for 20 years.
Among the allegations in the FTC's complaint, the commission said Snapchat misrepresented that photo and video messages sent over its service disappear forever once a time-limited period has expired.
Despite those claims, there are several ways in which a message recipient can use tools outside of the Snapchat app to view messages indefinitely, the FTC said.
In a company blog post announcing the settlement, Snapchat said the company had been focused on growth, and learned by making mistakes. "While we were focused on building, some things didn't get the attention they could have," the post said. "One of those was being more precise with how we communicated with the Snapchat community."
The post said that the company had made changes over the last year. "Even before today's consent decree was announced, we had resolved most of those concerns over the past year by improving the wording of our privacy policy, app description, and in-app just-in-time notifications. And we continue to invest heavily in security and countermeasures to prevent abuse."