Snapchat settles over message deceit

Snapchat has agreed to settle with the US Federal Trade Commission over charges that it deceived customers about the disappearing nature of messages sent through its service and that it collected users’ contacts without telling them or asking permission.

Snapchat is a popular mobile messaging app that lets people send photos, videos, and messages that disappear in a few seconds. However, the FTC said Snapchat misled users about its data collection methods and failed to tell users that others could save their messages without their knowledge.

Snapchat agreed to settle without admitting or denying any wrongdoing and the company said it has addressed many of the issues the FTC raised.

As part of the settlement, Snapchat must implement a privacy programme that will be monitored by an outside privacy expert for the next 20 years.

The arrangement is similar to privacy settlements that Google, Facebook, and Myspace have agreed to in recent years.

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.

Apple’s iOS7 launched last summer.