{"id":834,"date":"2015-11-06T12:29:17","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T12:29:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/?p=834"},"modified":"2019-07-11T14:05:29","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T14:05:29","slug":"snapchat-responds-to-chatter-about-privacy-policy-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ftcguardian.com\/articles\/snapchat-responds-to-chatter-about-privacy-policy-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapchat Responds To Chatter About Privacy Policy Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Social media rumors were taken far too seriously this past weekend, as word spread around the globe that Snapchat\u2019s recent privacy policy update gave the company ownership over user content, which includes photos, videos, and text messages. The rumors were picked up by publications that included <\/span>The Telegraph<\/span> and <\/span>The Sydney Morning Herald<\/span>. Snapchat <\/span>addressed <\/span>the rumors in fairly plain language this morning with a <\/span>statement <\/span>assuring that its users retained control over their content.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the statement, Snapchat assured users that they were not storing user content indefinitely.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Snaps and Chats you send your friends remain as private today as they were before the update,\u201d the statement read. The company further elaborated that while messages were deleted from Snapchat\u2019s servers after viewing, the company had no control over screenshots or pictures taken by their recipients.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that the updated terms of service were far from ambiguous when it came to content rights, which just shows you the power of unsubstantiated internet rumors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you do that, you retain whatever ownership rights in that content you had to begin with,\u201d read Snapchat\u2019s Terms of Service, in reference to content that is uploaded onto the company\u2019s servers.<\/p>\n

Public outcry after changes in Terms of Service is hardly new. <\/span>Instagram rolled back changes<\/span> to their Ad terms after angering users late in 2012. In similar circumstances, the outcry over Instagram\u2019s new policies was related to user worries about content ownership.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Snapchat continues to maintain a policy of not sharing message contents with advertisers or other business partners, its Terms of Service does give it significant usage rights over content sent over the app.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need that license when it comes to, for example, Snaps submitted to Live Stories, where we have to be able to show those Stories around the world\u2014and even replay them or syndicate them,\u201d the company added in the statement. Snapchat\u2019s right to use content in this manner has been a part of their Terms of Service since the company\u2019s inception.
\nSnapchat\u2019s statement also clarified some reasons for the <\/span>updated Terms of Service<\/span>. Other than linguistic simplification, the new terms enable Snapchat to sell replays on messages. This language on in-app purchases paves the way for new paid and promoted content, something that Snapchat will need for their long drive towards profitability.<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2015\/11\/01\/snapchat-responds-privacy-policy-change\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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