Snapchat

Snapchat is ‘sorry’ for data breach, strengthens mobile app security

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Snapchat has found itself in some pretty hot water after a group of anonymous hackers on New Year's Eve breached its database and leaked 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers on the web. The controversy wasn't necessarily about the security breach itself, but over Snapchat's stubborn refusal to publicly acknowledge the situation, apologize for the inconvenience and update customers on steps taken, if any, to rectify the situation.

It's mind-boggling that Snapchat was aware of a security hole in its API for several weeks yet did absolutely nothing to plug it, an inexplicable move that has in turn allowed the hackers to successfully exploit Snapchat's shortcomings and steal user data.

Today, the company has finally gone on the record to confirm that a new update to its Android and iOS apps improves security by letting folks opt out of the Find Friends feature which has, partially, allowed for the hack.

And although the company has yet to formally apologize for the messy handling of the situation, it now says it's "sorry" for any problems this issue may have caused its users...

Hackers leak 4.6M Snapchat usernames and phone numbers, see if you’ve been affected

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Bad news, Snapchat fans: a group of anonymous hackers have successfully exploited a nasty security hole in the popular IM application to hijack a whopping 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers, publishing this private data on a website called SnapchatDB.info.

The circa 40MB SQL database dump (also available as a CSV file) includes phone numbers and usernames, along with the affected users' geographical region information.

Why did they do it? The leaked private information “is being shared with the public to raise awareness” of a Snapchat API exploit they'd used for the hack.

Snapchat has been aware of the security loophole in its application since August, but did literally nothing to patch it. Is there a way to see if you've been affected? Yes, there is. Read on for the full reveal...

Snapchat updated with photo filters, message replays and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

In an odd late-Friday release, Snapchat has posted a new version of its popular iOS messaging client this evening. The update, which brings the app to version 6.1, is fairly significant as it adds camera filters, message replays and other new features.

For the new filters, you can pick between black and white, sepia and vintage, and you can also add data points like time, weather, and how fast you were going when you took the photo. And as for the new Replay feature, it lets you take a second look...

WSJ: Snapchat turned down $3 billion buyout offer from Facebook

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

It was the summer of 2006. Facebook was just two years old, and strictly a college site, with some 8 or 9 million users. And the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, met with board members Jim Breyer and Peter Thiel to discuss Yahoo's $1 billion buyout offer.

As we all know, Zuckerberg ended up turning down the money, in what has become one of the most infamous moves in the last 10 years of tech. But the wunderkind recently found himself on the other side of the negotiating table, with even more money at stake...

SnapHack for iPhone lets anyone save your incriminating Snapchats permanently

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Your online privacy is an elastic concept. No, I'm not referring to the NSA eavesdropping on your online communications or breaking into your iPhone or harvesting your online address books. Let's talk about Snapchat for a minute.

A quick backgrounder for the uninitiated: developed by Stanford University students, Snapchat is a handy photo messaging application that exploded in popularity soon after people realized they can send their photos to a controlled list of recipients and set a time limit for how long they can view them.

After the cut-off time, the snaps are automatically deleted from both the recipient's device and Snapchat's servers. As a bonus, Snapchat features a built-in mechanism that informs the other side when you screenshot their snaps. Now, you can imagine why Snapchat blew up in no time as some folks predominantly use the application to expose their body parts and share their candid shots.

A new iPhone app called SnapHack changes all that by bypassing Snapchat's screenshot notifications and pulling unopened content from Snapchat's servers. Plus, the company behind Snapchat yesterday detailed law enforcement requests. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Snapchat 6.0 is out with new ‘Snapchat Stories’ feature

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Snapchat has posted a new version of its iOS client today, bringing the app to version 6.0. The update only includes one new feature—but it's a major new feature, which the company is calling 'Snapchat Stories.'

The best way to describe the feature is that it's sort of similar to Facebook's News Feed. Story entries are essentially status updates that show your friends what you've been up to in the last 24 hours, using pictures...

iOS 7 lets you secretly take screenshots in apps like Snapchat

Cody Lee ∙ June 25, 2013

There's been a lot of talk over the past 24 hours about the many changes in beta 2 of iOS 7. Apple seeded the update to developers yesterday morning, and there's already been a number of new features and enhancements discovered.

But tonight an alteration was uncovered in the firmware that's been around since the first release. It's not clear yet whether it's by accident or design, but something in iOS 7 has broken the screenshot detection in apps like Snapchat...

Snapchat 5.0 is out with updated UI, in-app profiles and more

Cody Lee ∙ June 6, 2013

Popular chat and picture messaging app Snapchat just posted a fairly significant update, bringing the application to version 5.0. The update features a handful of improvements, including a revamped user interface.

Also included in the update, which is apparently code-named Banquo, is swipe navigation, the ability to double tap to reply to messages, in-app profiles, and more. As usual, we have the full change log after the fold...